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Joe Hart must find first-team football away from Manchester City, says Jamie Redknapp

Manchester City
Image: Joe Hart's been a No 1 all his life - he needs to play, says Jamie Redknapp

Jamie Redknapp has no problem with Pep Guardiola dropping Joe Hart - but says the England No 1 cannot afford to be sat on the bench.

We're in the early days of the Pep Guardiola era at Manchester City and the manager is still finding out about the players he has in the squad and what he can get out of them. We've already seen he doesn't fancy Joe Hart - and I've got no problem with that.

After the England No 1 was left out against Sunderland and Steaua Bucharest some people have said Guardiola was out of order. That Hart, who has been at City for 10 years, deserved to be treated better. But it's Guardiola's job to make those calls.

At the end of the day it's Guardiola's reputation on the line and if he doesn't think Hart is good enough then unlucky. Get on with it. That's football. We've all had to suffer that at some stage in our careers.

There are only a handful of players in world football who haven't had a new manager come in and think 'he's not for me'. It's not the first time it's happened to Hart and it probably won't be the last.

Joe Hart sits on the bench after being dropped for Manchester City's opening game of the season.
Image: Joe Hart has been benched for the first two games of the season

The important thing for him now is to go and play some football somewhere, even if it's just leaving on loan for a while. I don't think anyone at Manchester City would begrudge him that. If he was a defender, midfielder or forward I'd tell him to stick around because things can change. But being a back-up goalkeeper can be a lonely role. He's been a No 1 all his life and he shouldn't be sitting on the bench, he should be playing somewhere.

A lot has been made about Hart's ability with the ball at his feet. It's not like Hart can't kick a ball, he's decent. But he's perhaps not at the highest level. If you can get a goalkeeper who can do both the passing and shot-stopping well - and Claudio Bravo, Barcelona's goalkeeper City are reportedly at, looks like that sort of player - then fine.

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But if you asked me as a manager would I sway towards a goalkeeper who is better with his feet or better with his hands, I'd go with his hands. Especially in this league, when you're challenged so much from aerial duels and balls coming into the box.

Hart will bounce back and prove to everybody he's a great goalkeeper.
Jamie Redknapp

It's been a tough few months for Joe. He's had a poor Euros and this has given him a bit of a kick in the teeth. But he's still young in goalkeeping terms and he'll bounce back and prove to everybody he's a great player.

One English player who seems to have benefited from Guardiola's arrival is Raheem Sterling. Again, it is early days but it seems like he's got his confidence back after struggling in France. And there's still so much more to come from Sterling, there's still so much to work on.

When young players go into the first team at a very young age, sometimes they don't learn the basics of the game. But Guardiola will help Sterling improve his game and - importantly - his technique. I've said before there's a definite problem with how he strikes the ball. But you can improve that if you work hard enough on it.

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Paul Ince tells the story that when he was at Manchester United he never worked on his left foot. He went to Italy and everyone was practising with their weaker foot. When he came back his left foot wasn't far off his right when it came to how he could strike the ball. So you can get better - but you have to graft. That's what Sterling needs to do.

He's got pace, ability, and he's direct. He should be getting lots of goals and assists. It's been a good start - albeit against two average teams - but he has to keep it going.  

One player who doesn't seem to have any problems with his technique is John Stones. He's the kind of player Guardiola loves - but who wouldn't love to have him in their side? He's so talented, quick and a good defender.

John Stones in action for Manchester City against Sunderland
Image: Redknapp says Stones is 'talented, quick and a good defender'

Yes, there are parts of his game that need work but he also needs a bit of love, too. Last season, every single mistake he made got scrutinised. People had a go at him for trying to play out from the back but didn't have a go at players who couldn't trap a bag of cement and just kick it into row Z.

Stones will take liberties at times but that's only because of how easy the game is to him. I'd rather have him in my squad, and tinker with his play to iron out the mistakes than start with a defender who can't play in that way at all.

Stones' defending will certainly be put to the test at Stoke City on Saturday lunchtime. They're not the team they were previously and it's unfair to label Stoke as a direct, physical team now. Last season they beat City by playing them off the park. And with the likes of Marko Arnautovic they can be a real threat again this weekend.

He'll be the man that City have to stop. It looked like he could be on his way to Everton, but keeping hold of Arnautovic was great news for Stoke fans. He's the one they'll look to to make the difference.

Marko Arnautovic had given Stoke the lead at the Britannia
Image: Marko Arnautovic scored twice against City at the Britannia last season

It will be interesting to see Guardiola's approach to the contest. I was amazed by the way he used Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna as almost inside lefts and inside rights when City had the ball against Sunderland. It wasn't a surprise because that's what he did with his full-backs at Bayern Munich. But it's different when you have the players of Philipp Lahm and David Alaba's quality.

I'm not convinced that tactic will be a success in the Premier League just yet. Clichy and Sagna have been full-backs all their careers and it's a difficult role he's asking them to perform.

Like with all new managers, it's going to take a while for City to fully take on board and execute Guardiola's plans.

With that in mind - and given Stoke's strengths and the fact the visitors had a long trip to Bucharest in midweek, I think this game could end up a draw.

Watch Stoke v Man City live on Sky Sports 1 from 11.30am on Saturday.