Sven-Goran Eriksson confirmed on Monday that he would pick the England Under 21 stopper for what will be his second appearance of the season.
His previous game was in the Blues’ first in this competition, and he distinguished himself with what several pundits described as a world-class save in the second half.
Joe says, “I haven’t had that many games this season, with everything that’s been going on, but I’m happy to get my go. Hopefully we can get the win and carry on in this competition.
“We changed our side for the Bristol City game, but Sven spoke to us before and told us that it wasn’t because he’s not interested in this competition. He had more than 11 players ready to play for Manchester City, and this is an opportunity to give everyone a go to show what they can do.
“In a cup competition, everything goes out of the window. It does not matter who you play, you could be playing Arsenal or Norwich but they can perform on the day. It’s down to us to be professional and perform the best we can to get a result.”
Joe suffered an ill-timed thumb injury just before the final pre-season friendly, but he is philosophical about something he sees as part and parcel of the game.
“I was frustrated after I did it for about two minutes, but then I realised that there’s no point in getting frustrated because it happens. It’s stopped me playing as much as I would have wanted for now, but I hope I can get back in and I won’t have to think about it.”
With the buzz around the Club with City’s good start to the season in mind, the 20-year-old adds, “To start like we have means that everyone’s confident and happy, the players that were brought in are exciting, everyone’s getting to know each other and it’s an exciting place to be at the moment. Things are definitely on the up.”
To see more of when Joe faced the press, go to www.mcfctv.com >
