Former England goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has spoken out in defence of West Ham stopper Joe Hart, who he believes is being subject to a ‘vendetta’.
The Manchester City loanee is yet to hit his best form at the London Stadium and is widely reported to sit out of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea, with David Moyes set to keep Adrian between the sticks after the Spaniard’s performance last weekend.
30-year-old Adrian played between the sticks against Hart’s parent side last weekend, with the England international unable to feature against Manchester City, and handed himself a boost as he seeks to secure more regular action.
Many have spoken out against Hart, claiming both West Ham and England should drop him, but Kirkland has given Hart his backing- telling TalkSport he’s still a ‘top keeper’.
“There seems to be a bit of a vendetta against him at the minute, for me he’s a top, top keeper.”
“The criticism Joe has taken has been very harsh, but we all know the industry we’re in – when you get a target on your back unfortunately it stays there for a while. But Joe is a big enough boy, he’s a great goalkeeper and he’s very confident – he’ll fight this all the way.”
West Ham currently sit 19th in the Premier League table, three points off safety heading into this weekend’s clash against Chelsea.
