Shay Given: I have no regrets about moving to Manchester City and I would love to stay

EPL: Shay Given, Manchester City v Chelsea (Getty Images)

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Shay Given has revealed he has no regrets about moving to Manchester City despite losing his starting place to Joe Hart at the start of the season.

The Irish keeper moved to Eastlands in 2009 from Newcastle United for a fee of £7 million and instantly became first choice, maintaining his place for the 2009-2010 Premier League season as Hart was loaned out to Birmingham.

However, after the England international returned from St Andrew’s, Given found himself dropped in favour of the 24-year-old, which he admits has been frustrating.

He told Radio Manchester: “It was important for me to be part of something big here

“I don’t know what the future holds and whether I will be here or not.

“I would love to be part of it but time will tell.

“I don’t regret coming here. You get a gut feeling and I said when I joined this club I felt like a kid again.

“It was a new club and new surroundings, and maybe you do go a bit stale being at the same club for 12 years.

“It’s not ideal at the minute because I’m not playing but things do change very quickly in football and if my chance comes I have to be ready to take it.

“You look around our changing room and we have some of the best players in the world, and I feel very privileged to be part of that.

“It was a huge decision to come here but it felt right at the time because I was joining Manchester City, who had huge ambitions and I was promised there would be investment in the team.

“The owners have stuck by what they said and brought huge players to the club.”

Given revealed the reason he left Tyneside was to win trophies and he felt 12 years at the Magpies was enough and he was ready for something new. 

“That was the reason I left Newcastle because I felt like I was joining a club that had a huge chance of doing fantastic things, challenging at the top of the league and challenging for silverware.

“No disrespect to the people at Newcastle,” he said, “but they were trying to cut back, sell some of their best players and get others in on frees. I felt after 12 years it was the right time for me to have a new challenge.”