Villa keeper Given backing Man City's Hart for England captaincy

Aston Villa goalkeeper Shay Given has backed Manchester City's Joe Hart for the England captaincy.

Given is confident Hart could handle the role.

He said: “A lot of managers, for some reason, don’t want to give the goalkeeper the captain’s armband, which I think is a bit strange.

“Joe could be an international captain, no problem. Dino Zoff won the World Cup with Italy, and in more recent times Iker Casillas won both the World Cup and European Championship as captain of Spain, so I definitely think a keeper can wear the armband.

“Joe has established himself for both Manchester City and England - he’s the first name on the teamsheet, in more than one sense, and that will continue for the foreseeable future.

“There are different players putting themselves forward, but it depends how long they are going to be around the England squad - in the long term, Joe is going to be a big part of the set-up.”