Former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has described strong recent criticism of West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek as a 'joke' and a 'disgrace'.

The Lowdown: Soucek struggling for form

The Hammers have made a poor start to the Premier League season, struggling to repeat last term's efforts, with a number of key players seeing their performance levels dip.

Soucek could be considered one of those, failing to enjoy his usual influence in midfield as his WhoScored rating dropped from 6.97 last season to 6.82 so far this term amid calls for him to be dropped, and also earning negative reviews during international duty with the Czech Republic.

He has been branded 'completely useless' by a Czech outlet, summing up his current struggles for both club and country.

The Latest: Kenny fumes at Soucek criticism

Speaking to Football Insider, Kenny lambasted the negativity towards Soucek from his homeland, defending him in the process.

The former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper said:

"For your own papers to call you useless is a disgrace. He’s not useless. Players have bad games. Everyone in the world has had a bad day at work, we are all human beings at the end of the day.

"I’m not having that for one minute, it’s a joke. Your own papers too. On West Ham, they faded away at the back of last season, it started then. Last year they should have bought a striker and things might have looked better. I think it’s a snowball effect.

"They haven’t been the West Ham we have seen of last year and it’s not just Soucek. A lot of the players haven’t improved."

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The Verdict: He will come good

Every footballer goes through a tough spell in their career where their form suffers, so there should be no overreaction towards Soucek's dip this season.

West Ham certainly need the 27-year-old back to his best as soon as possible, but there should be confidence that it will happen, with the Czech stalwart having been hailed by Jamie Carragher as the Hammers' "most important player" in the past.

It's a fair shout by the Sky Sports pundit, as the midfielder has chipped in with 15 goals over the last two full Premier League seasons, standing out as a big performer for the Irons.

The hope is that Soucek's resurgence starts at home to Wolves on Saturday evening, when Moyes' men return to Premier League action with a must-win game against another struggling outfit.