Birmingham City signing Ben Foster says any young goalkeeper needs to be mentally tough to handle an England call.

Former Manchester United keeper Foster reckons Birmingham predecessor Joe Hart, of Manchester City, could be in for a serious shock amid the intense glare of the World Cup spotlight.

The ex-Watford and Stoke man said: "You definitely need a strong head on your shoulders to handle the pressure and criticism because it does get out of hand.

"With England goalkeepers the expectations are so high and maybe that's why we haven't really had a regular keeper for quite a while now.

"Paul Robinson was there for a bit - but one bobble against Croatia and he was singled out afterwards, even though he was probably our best player that night. And that was the end of him with England.

"It was the same for Scott Carson. He was thrust into a massive game, which I'm not sure was the ideal situation, made a mistake and got absolutely mullered for it for weeks afterwards. People big up keepers, especially English ones, but as soon as we make a mistake we're the worst thing going.

"We need more protection from the media. Mistakes happen and we don't mean them. It's not an enviable position to be in, though, because everybody is an expert now and seems to know the keeper's position better than we do.

"People want to make a name for themselves with a point of view. It's just the way it is."