West Ham coach , Slaven Bilic has defended heavily criticised goalkeeper, Joe Hart, saying he is not appreciated enough.

The 30-year-old England international has been criticised for his performance for both club and country, since he left Manchester City on loan.

Hart played a key role in England’s 1-0 win over Slovenia and Bilic believes he needs to be appreciated more.

“I think you don’t appreciate him. I watched the game against Slovenia. He was man of the match,” the Croatian said.

“But you didn’t have that feeling from the studio, from the commentator, saying it was a penalty [to Slovenia] – it wasn’t a penalty. If it was anyone else goalkeeping in that situation, nobody would say it was a penalty. I have that feeling at this moment.

“Has he become an easy target? Yes. The guy is brilliant. I’m not just talking about goalkeeping now. The guy never slaughters anyone in the job.

“He is taking the bullets, he is there every single time, whether he is at City or Torino or West Ham. He is a great professional and a top pro.”