West Ham captain Mark Noble has revealed the promise he made to striker Michail Antonio ahead of the match against Manchester United at Old Trafford last season.
Noble appeared on the talkSPORT breakfast show (8.30am) with Laura Woods, Ally McCoist and former Hammer Carlton Cole.
The 30-year-old spoke about the form of Antonio as well as the reasons why the striker was on penalty duty that day in July, saying: ”From lockdown, he scored all those goals to keep us up. At the end of last season, we were in the gym and he needed one more for a bonus and our next game was Manchester United away, I was hedging my bets a little bit and I said if we get one you can take it.”
The Hammers were awarded a spot-kick on the day and, thankfully for Noble, Antonio scored as the captain admitted: ”I could hear the gaffer and I chose not to look round.”
On the club’s start to the season and the job David Moyes has done, Noble was cautiously optimistic: ”The manager changed the shape and it suited a lot of our players. It sort of clicked.”
The club’s record Premier League appearance maker continued: ”He’s brought in players he wants, I know it can change, but hopefully, we are moving in the right direction.”
”I’ve not heard anything about a new deal [for Moyes], we had a great relationship last time. We’ve had a good start, I think the club under him has been settled for a while now.”
Noble finally gave a positive update on his own injury situation, saying: ”I trained yesterday all good and I’ll train again today, I should be in the squad for the Sheffield United game.”
READ WEST HAM VERDICT
A fascinating insight from the man known as ‘Mr. West Ham’ who is known to wear his heart on his sleeve when it comes to the Hammers.
Despite a diminishing influence on the field this season, Noble also certainly remains a huge presence in the dressing room. A potential future manager at London Stadium, perhaps?
