Manchester City's Joe Hart beats the title drum

Goalkeeper confident side can end 44-year Premier League drought.

Manchester City's English goalkeeper Joe Hart celebrates after beating Manchester United during their English Premier League football match at The Etihad stadium in Manchester, north-west England on April 30, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ANDREW YATES



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Joe Hart, the Manchester City goalkeeper, is determined to "ride the wave" from the derby victory over Manchester United all the way to the Premier League title.

Hart was a virtual spectator on Monday night as the club owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed claimed a 1-0 win over Manchester United to regain top spot in the Premier League table with only two games remaining.

Victory at Newcastle United on Sunday, followed by a home win over QPR on the final day of the season, will be enough for City to claim their first championship since 1968, unless United record improbably high wins over Swansea City and Sunderland. Like his manager, Roberto Mancini, Hart is determined not to look too far ahead, but he concedes momentum is with City.

"We deserve to be in the position we are in," Hart said. "We are a good team, with good players and good fans and we are going places. Hopefully, we can do it this year. You have to ride on that wave and enjoy it. There is no point in being robots. You have to feel that vibe and we felt the fans."

City's trip to the Sports Direct Arena could be awkward; Newcastle have lost only twice at home this season, and they beat United 3-0. "It's all about Newcastle now, which is pretty similar to what happened earlier in the season when we won at United: it was a great feeling but then we had the next game," Hart said.

"It's all very well winning one game. But you can't just win one game if you want to do well. You need to win every one.

"Now we go to Newcastle to face a very tough side in a tough stadium, hoping we can get a good result."

Hart, Micah Richards and Vincent Kompany are the only members of the squad who were in place when Sheikh Mansour bought the club and began the investment which has transformed them into a Uefa Champions League outfit and Premier League title contenders.

"It has been exciting, the way we have evolved as a club, and I am proud and pleased to be part of that," Hart said. "We are coming of age, but we have the opportunities, we have the right people around us and the right squad and the right fans so it's all good."