Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart accepts his responsibility of being a public role model.

Hart accepts that the way he conducts himself - along with the other elite players in the game - will come under scrutiny.

"It doesn't change the way I am but I do totally understand how you're looked at as a footballer, especially by children," he told the Mail on Sunday. "I don't claim I can shape their lives, but there's no harm in having good manners and being seen to play the game properly.

"It's not about putting on grand gestures or going out of the way to make yourself a role model, it's just about conducting yourself in a good manner. I've always found that you can enjoy your life a lot more if you can get on with people. If I don't get on with someone I don't necessarily go out of my way to be best friends, but you learn as you grow up how to get on with people.

"If crowds give you abuse there's no point standing there and giving it them back, you just move on. You try to spend your energy on things that are positive."