West Ham’s terrible start is hurting Mark Noble more than most, but he’s confident they will turn it around

EXCLUSIVE
Trying times | Mark Noble holds off Matt Ritchie during the 3-0 defeat against Newcastle
Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Ken Dyer11 September 2017

Mark Noble has played in more than a few must-win matches in his 12 years as a first-team player at West Ham.

The latest crisis might have come a little early this season - after just three Premier League games to be precise - but that’s modern football for you. Win three and you’re a magician - lose three and you’re a mug.

The captain knows the truth lies somewhere in between but it hasn’t stopped him hurting inside since the 3-0 defeat at Newcastle two weeks ago.

Tonight, after three Premier League defeats on the road, Noble and his team-mates are back for the first time this season at the London Stadium.

The temporary seating is back in place, the West Ham branding is restored, and the World Athletics Championships are a fading memory.

Now, all that is needed - badly needed - for beleaguered manager Slaven Bilic on his 49th birthday, is a win over buoyant Premier League newcomers Huddersfield.

“It’s another ‘must-win game’ as some people see it,” admits 30-year-old Noble with just the hint of a sigh. “And to be honest, up until now, we’ve managed to get through the others okay - Spurs last season, Swansea, Burnley and Hull at home, Crystal Palace away.

“It’s been a long time since that Newcastle game.

In Pictures | Newcastle vs West Ham | 26/08/2017

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“I’ve played more than 400 games for this club and, yes, it means more to me than most people.

“Sometimes that goes against you though. I’ve not played and done my best because I’m a home-grown player, we’ve had lots of those over the years. I’ve played all those games because I’ve been picked by a succession of managers. I’ve started every season over the past 10 years.

“That’s one of the proudest things for me but because I’m so attached to this club, I go home every day and I’m thinking, ‘I just want us to do well, I just want everyone to be happy.

“A lot of players here and at every other Premier League club, have no real affiliation with where they are.

“They lose a game, they go home and it’s still sweet because they know if something bad happens, their agents will find them another club.

“That’s not what I want. I want West Ham to do well and that’s just the way it is.

“The last place we want to be is going into tonight’s game with the pressure already firmly on - it’s not ideal but we do need to get a result.

“We need to be on our game right from the start because Huddersfield haven’t conceded a goal yet in three games.

“That sort of start comes from hard work and adrenalin following their promotion and they will come to our stadium tonight and think - ‘this is amazing, what a place in which to play football’ - so we need to be prepared.”

Noble understands how it works and knows that the focus will be sharpest tonight on his manager Bilic, in the final year of his contract at West Ham.

“It was as low as I’ve seen the manager after the Newcastle match. We were all pretty low and it was a feeling that we had not only let ourselves down but him also,” says Noble. “It would be nice to have a season where we don’t have these crises - where we can go out and enjoy our football.

“The season before last was like that and if you look back it all seems great, finishing seventh in the last season at Upton Park.

“There were times, around Christmas I remember, though, when even then the manager was being questioned, we had lost away to Newcastle and people were saying we were in a massive slump.

“That’s modern football, though, and you have to take it on the chin.

“Yes, managers are well paid these days but they’re still human beings and just because you have a good salary, that doesn’t mean there is a wall built around you which deflects all the criticism.

“Sometimes you take it to heart and it hurts. The manager here is in the last year of his contract and there is a bit of uncertainty.

“For him it’s not ideal but it is the decision of the chairmen.

“As far as we’re concerned all we can do as players is try and do better for the manager.

“He can’t be out there with us. He gives us his ideas and it’s up to us to put them into practice.

“We’re not too negative, though. We know we have some good players here and I believe we’ll get out of this.

“We’re going to need the crowd though, for sure.

“I’d much rather they used all their energy to back us rather than being negative towards whoever.”

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