Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that he did not face any problem in dropping Joe Hart from his team this season.

The England international goalkeeper has lost his place in the Citizens' starting lineup for making a number of mistakes this campaign.

"From a personal point of view, I am never affected by that," he told Chilean broadcaster La Fabrica. "From the very first day I try to teach the squad my values, which I will not compromise. Respect for the club, the players, the staff, the fans, belief in a project, whatever that project might be, but the current project [at City] requires the maximum amount of belief and sacrifice.

"The third value is performance. I try to treat everyone justly, so all of the players are treated exactly the same, and that means that everyone in the squad accepts the decision I make, whether you play or start on the bench.

"There has to be competition between them to get the best performance, they cannot rest on their laurels or they will be left behind. Sometimes I explain and sometimes I do not explain why they are playing or not, but I try to be fair."

Pellegrini has also admitted that managers will invariably have problems with some players in the team.

"Justice is a difficult word, because some respond better than others," added the 60-year-old. "But I have my criteria.

"It is impossible not to have conflict with players when you are a manager, but the minute a player begins to question the authority of the manager in the dressing room, that player has to be out of the squad.

"You cannot put the manager's charge in jeopardy. If you do that, you produce a chaos in the squad. You have to try to convince the player many times [to support the manager], but if not, the player who questions the manager has to leave."

Pellegrini was appointed as City manager at the start of the season.