City manager Pellegrini: Hart will regain his best form

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini gave goalkeeper Joe Hart a vote of confidence Thursday, saying that he fully expects the Englishman to regain his best form.

Hart has been benched in favour of Costel Pantilimon in City's last four Premier League matches, but did start for England in their 1-0 friendly loss to Germany earlier this week, and made a number of impressive saves.

On the back of that performance, Pellegrini told Sky News Arabia that he still considers Hart a crucial member of the squad.

"I think at this moment that maybe Joe needs a rest but we still have a lot of trust in Joe and he's still a very important player in our squad," Pellegrini said, via Sky Sports.

"It's very important for me as a manager - you don't have 11 players - you have 22.

"I analyse what they do every week - I talk with them.

"I am absolutely convinced he will come back to his performances of the last two years."