Wednesday 10 February 2010

World Coming Down

"When West Ham lose, it feels like the world's coming down on top of me..."

Here is a little Mark Noble interview with John Cross from today's Mirror. I didn't really know what to do with it so I'm reproducing it as is...

West Ham midfielder Mark Noble is enjoying new found stability - both on and off the pitch.

Noble, 22, believes good things are around the corner for West Ham after the David Gold and David Sullivan takeover at Upton Park. The England under-21 star and his partner Carly are also expecting their second child, with Noble saying parenthood has helped his football career. Noble's baby daughter Honey is ten months old while partner Carly is five months pregnant, and he is trying to be more positive in his outlook as struggling West Ham face Birmingham tonight.

"I think it improves you as a person and it's nice to have a family," said Noble. "I'm very happy with my life and really looking forward to the future. On the pitch, it hasn't been the best of seasons for us. I can't lie and say it has when it hasn't. We've got to be realistic. But I think every fan wants stability and the new owners have given us what we needed. Now we can push on, look to the future and go forward as a club."

Noble has endured some ups and downs this season as West Ham's indifferent form has left them fighting relegation amid the uncertainty surrounding the club's future until Gold and Sullivan's takeover.

Noble said: "As much as people think footballers live a great life, they earn so much money, live in big houses and drive nice cars, at the end of the day, when I'm driving home and we haven't won, it's like the world's coming down on top of me. Sometimes, I've got to stop thinking like that. I've got a baby now, so I don't want to go home and be miserable with her. But I'm quite passionate, I want to win so much and in the long term I'm sure that's a good thing. When I'm not playing or we've lost, the missus stays away from me because we don't really talk that much! I've tried to stop that. I've tried to forget about everything that's happened on the pitch or leave it at the training ground."

That has been difficult this season, especially after Saturday's defeat at fellow strugglers Burnley which put the Hammers back in the drop zone. But Gold and Sullivan are desperate to turn things round, and Noble says the players are right behind manager Gianfranco Zola.

Noble firmly believes the new regime, new signings Benni McCarthy and Mido plus a squad including regular England internationals Rob Green, Matt Upson, Carlton Cole and Scott Parker can steer them from danger.

Noble added: "This league is so tight, I've never known anything like it. We're all behind the manager, Gianfranco Zola, the board have come in and they will hopefully bring stability to the club. You can see they want to improve it straight away, they've made a good signing in Benni McCarthy, and hopefully we can go forward.

"For stability, you need to be in charge of your club, of your team, for many years - you can see that with Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson - and hopefully that can be the way forward. The manager is a really positive person, he instills belief in you, he wants you to go out there, enjoy yourself and I think the players like playing under him. I've never heard a bad word said about him and for a manager that's very unusual. He's been there, seen it and been through it.

"He's come in, said from day one, that no matter what position we're in, he wants us to play football and that's what we're doing at the moment. We've got a good squad - the likes of Scott Parker, Carlton Cole, Matt Upson and Rob Green, the spine of the team, are all experienced pros. The new owners have also been very honest, direct and said what needed to be said about the state the club was in.

"When they arrived, they came in to see the players, introduced themselves to everyone, got to know the players personally rather than just seeing us on the telly and so on. That was a nice thing to do. Then Mr Gold walked into the dressing room before the game against Blackburn, shook our hands and wished us good luck. That's a nice touch, they're showing the support and getting right behind us. It's nice they're West Ham fans because West Ham fans are so passionate. With them being fans, they're going to do the best for the club. They're not just interested in profits, they want the club to do well."

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