Wolves outcast Roger Johnson happy at West Ham

The 30-year-old defender has so far played four games for the Hammers, conceding 12 goals, although all but three of them came in the 9-0 aggregate drubbing in the Capital One Cup semi-final against Manchester City.

Johnson, is aiming to rebuild his career after being accused of being at the heart of the toxic fallout and successive relegations at Molineux after he also suffered the drop with Birmingham.

But he maintains he can still hack it in the top flight.

"I didn't play in League One for Wolves – I went straight back into the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday, but it's been tough," said Johnson.

"I've been out of the Premier League for two-and-a-half seasons, but I know in my head I can do it and thankfully the manager (Sam Allardyce) has given me the chance to prove that."

Johnson insists he is in good form despite the goals against.

"I was fairly happy with the first game (6-0 defeat at Manchester City) – I thought I did OK," he said.

"Despite losing 6-0, the manager said he was half pleased with me.

"We got a clean sheet in the Cardiff game (won 2-0) so I think I did well in that, OK against Newcastle (lost 3-1) and alright against Man City (lost 3-0).

"It's tough when you lose to say you've done well and I'm certainly not saying I've done well and everyone else hasn't.

"But we're in it together and I want to play as many games as I can, perform and help us stay in the league."

Next up for West Ham is a London derby at Johnson's boyhood club Chelsea next Wednesday, but he believes February could define the Hammers' season.

"We'll go to Chelsea and try to cause an upset," he said.

"But after that we've got Swansea and Norwich at home as well as Southampton and those games could well decide the season."