Schmeichel told the People: "I had some hard times at Manchester City and that gave me a lot of time to mature and reflect on what was going on in my career.
"It was horrible. It was a bad time, but I turned it into something positive. I had to.
"The manager decided on a change and that was his prerogative. All I could do was accept it, get on with it and make sure I pushed Joe Hart as hard as I could and supported him as well as I could for the team.
"I am not one to whinge and say it should have been me or it should have been this way.
"Joe is a good friend of mine and I think he has done brilliantly. I am very happy for him but from a personal point of view it made me realise I had to work even harder to get where I want to be."