West Ham United captain Mark Noble has insisted that "fantastic" goalkeeper Joe Hart should be devoid of any blame for his side's slow start to the campaign.
The Hammers have shipped 10 goals in their first three Premier League games to find themselves bottom of the table at this early stage of the season.
Hart, on loan at West Ham from Manchester City, also endured a tough time during a season-long spell with Torino in Italy last time out, but Noble believes that the 30-year-old should simply be given more protection by his defenders.
"Joe has had a tough start to his West Ham career, but that's down to the whole team," he told the Daily Mail. "He's England's number one, he's a fantastic goalie and I think he'll stay No.1 for a while yet to come. He's a fantastic character. He's played in massive tournaments and won the Premier League so it's always nice to have that experience.
"We probably haven't protected him as well as we should have done in the first three games, but he's a leader, a great person and hopefully he can start his enjoyment of West Ham from next Monday night [against Huddersfield Town]."
Hart kept a clean sheet for England in their 4-0 win over Malta on Friday night and is expected to start against Slovakia on Monday.
