Interim England coach Stuart Pearce has hailed the influence of goalkeeper Joe Hart on the current group of players ahead of tonight's friendly international with Holland at Wembley.
Pearce gave Hart his big break when he signed him as Manchester City manager from Shrewsbury and then made him first choice keeper after becoming England Under-21 coach.
Hart has been touted as a possible England captain and Pearce is quick to praise his qualities.
He said: "When I signed Joe for City, he was an outstanding young talent at that age. We didn't have much money at Manchester City, so he fitted the bill just nicely, £600,000.
"I couldn't spend more than that. We were on the limit. That's where we were at but Joe has been fantastic. He's developed brilliantly.
"His attitude is outstanding. He's a big influence around this group as well with his personality. He's infectious is Joe and the other players like him.
"He's developed and is getting better and better. I don't think the finished article is there yet, but he's got a great deal of experience and is a credit to himself and his family."
Hart is quick to recognise Pearce's influence on his own career but is focused on England doing themselves justice against the Dutch and the in-form Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
He said: "This game is important. I can only talk for myself. I have always been a 'one game at a time' person. Any game is a massive game.
"We're playing Holland at home, who potentially could be one of our biggest rivals in the summer, so I think we have to play it like a tournament game.
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"It means something. We've got fans coming to entertain, a great stadium and we have great name in England. We need to be winning games like this."
Hart added: "Van Persie is a huge threat. He's a great player. He's slapping goals in left, right and centre. He's Arsenal's focal point. I would imagine Holland will play pretty similar to how Arsenal do.
"He will be a big test. But he's not invincible. We've played against him before. We beat Arsenal one-nil at City.
"He's a very good player, everyone knows that. He's hot at the moment."
Hart believes the young players in Pearce's squad such as Daniel Sturridge and Danny Welbeck will handle the occasion if given a chance by Pearce.
He said: "They playing for Chelsea, they're playing for Manchester United. They're playing for the most respected clubs in the world.
"Sir Alex Ferguson for one seems to think they're good enough so who are we to judge?"
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