Given ready to quit City if he loses No 1 jersey
-
Shay won't take a Hart transplant: Given ready to quit City if he loses No 1 jersey
No 1 rivals: City keepers Hart (left) and Given in pre-season training
Having spent the pre-season watching Joe Hart start all six of Manchester City's warm-up games, Shay Given is not going to sit quietly on the sidelines as the real business begins.
The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, arguably the finest in the Premier League, is ready to throw Eastlands into turmoil by demanding showdown talks with manager Roberto Mancini if he is left out of the side to face Tottenham on Saturday.
Given is believed to be prepared to request a transfer if he is left on the bench. Mancini says he has yet to decide whether to start Given or England keeper Joe Hart at White Hart Lane but Hart is thought to be his first choice.
With Fabio Capello hoping to name the Premier League keeper of last season as his No 1 for England's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, there is pressure on Mancini to go with the Englishman, who has returned to City after an impressive season at Birmingham City.
Ireland No 1 Given, who is recovering from a shoulder injury with his 104th cap against Argentina on Wendesday night, says Mancini has given no indication who will play.
But the 34-year-old, a £6million signing from Newcastle just 18 months ago, has made it clear he is not prepared to start as a substitute and will seek a meeting with the Italian coach on Monday.
Big decision: manager Mancini
Given said: 'I haven't joined City to sit on the bench. I've gone there to play. If that's not the case, I'll sit down on Monday with the club and see where I can go after that. The manager hasn't picked the team yet and he hasn't spoken to me. It's not ideal. You want to know mentally whether you're starting.'
Given, in Dublin for the first international at the re-built Lansdowne Road, could have skipped Monday's press conference before the Argentina friendly. But, as ever, he was keen to speak, and will be happy to confront Mancini if he is overlooked for the season's opener.
He said: 'It's different if you're a midfielder - you can rotate them and play them in different positions. It's a specialist position and you can only play the one player.
'Joe did well last year and deserves great credit for that but I'd like to think I did OK at Manchester City. I missed only the last week of the season and I worked hard all summer to be fit for the new campaign.'
Last week Sunderland boss Steve Bruce revealed his loan bid for Hart was turned down by City. Bruce wanted cover for injured Craig Gordon for two months.
City have also rejected offers from Fulham and Arsenal. Arsene Wenger kept tabs on Given during his 10 years at Newcastle but never accepted the club's valuation. Given has now again been linked with Wenger as he seeks an experienced keeper.
Given said: 'To discuss now would be a little disrespectful to the goalkeepers they have already. Arsenal are a fantastic club, it's just too soon.'
Given added: 'I'm 34 and you cherish every year, every game. For me, it's very important that I play football. I know I'm at a very exciting, very ambitious club with great owners and great ambition to win trophies. That's why I went there.'
Mancini said: 'We have two good keepers and one will play and one will stay on the bench. We play a lot of games in one year - three games every week - so we could play both goalkeepers.'