MARK Noble emerged from the West Ham United dressing room, his arms laden with trophies after scooping Young Hammer of the Year and runner-up to Teddy Sheringham in the Hammer of the Year poll.
Not bad for a 17-year-old Academy graduate who only made his
first-team debut in January.
And despite his disappointment at the side's 2-1 defeat to
Sunderland, Mark could not hide a smile when asked about his haul
of awards.
"It's fantastic," he beamed, "a brilliant season for me and to get two awards that are voted for by the fans is just incredible.
"I can hardly believe it really and if you would have said to me at the start of the season that I'd be walking away with Hammer of the Year runner-up and Young Hammer of the Year I'd have said you were mad.
"It's been tremendous for me personally. I feel really lucky and now it's important that I kick-on and make sure that I keep improving and taking steps forward."
Mark remains adamant that he can still make it a successful end to the season with the Hammers, and after seeing his home-town club move back into the top six with Reading's weekend defeat, he insisted the team have still got a great chance.
"It's not over," he said defiantly, "we knew that after the Sunderland game and when Reading didn't get their result against Wolves it moved us back into the top six.
"Effectively, we have got to be the better placed going into the last game. It's going to be a really tight finish, but all we can do is win our game and see where it leaves us.
"We're desperate to be in those Play-offs. You could see against Sunderland how much it means to our fans. They were tremendous, it was an incredible game to be involved in, and I was gutted about the defeat.
"They were a good side, but to lose 2-1 after being a goal up at half-time was tough. I went home and must have really annoyed my parents that night. Even after getting the awards I was really disappointed about the result, because it was a great atmosphere.
"But if we make the Play-offs there will be an even better atmosphere at Upton Park for the semi-final, and that's our only aim right now.
"Hopefully, we'll have a good week in training and we
can go out, be positive and get the three points against Watford
that will see us into the Play-offs. From there, who knows?
"We'll just give it our all and see what
happens."