At the grand old age of 22, Mark Noble has already done his fair share of mentoring of West Ham United's promising youngsters.
The midfielder, who made his own debut in a League Cup tie win over Southend United in August 2004 at the age of 17, has watched as the likes of Jack Collison, James Tomkins, Freddie Sears, Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines, Bondz 'Gala, Josh Payne, Anthony Edgar and Zavon Hines have followed him into the first-team squad.
The former England Under-21 captain has acted as a big brother figure to the young Academy graduates, offering them much-needed advice and guidance as they prepared for life in the Barclays Premier League.
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Last Sunday at Aston Villa, Noble saw another teenager - 18-year-old Frank Nouble - mark his full league debut with an all-action display in the goalless draw at Aston Villa and is backing him to make a similar contribution at Portsmouth on Tuesday should he be selected.
"Frank did well at Villa. He could have scored in the first five minutes and he did really well. Hopefully he will keep it up and keep working hard on the training ground, because we're going to need him.
"He's only young, still, and he's got to work on a lot, but if the manager nurtures him well and we keep getting on his back and don't let his feet lift off the floor, he'll be OK."
"Frank's a quiet boy but sometimes he's got a bit too much to say in training! That will get knocked out of him soon and hopefully he'll keep improving."
With nearly 150 first-team appearances for the club under his belt, Noble is acutely aware of the approach needed to establish yourself at the highest level, and is eager to pass on his experience to the striker.
"In this league, if you get big for your boots as a young player, you're going to get found out, so you've got to keep working hard every day, keep playing well and keep impressing the manager. Hopefully he'll get his chances.
Normally deployed as a creative midfielder, at Villa Park Noble moved further back following the withdrawals of Scott Parker and Radoslav Kovac, taking on a shielding role in front of the defence. The Canning Town-born player admitted to enjoying the responsibility.
"I played the holding role and I quite like that position. I used to play there a while ago and I've probably played my best football there. I actually preferred that to what I did in the first half. Coming back after nearly a month out injured, I felt a bit rusty in the first half, but in the second I felt my usual self again."
Nouble was not the only West Ham player to impress at Villa Park. Goalkeeper Robert Green was unbeatable, while the back-four of Julien Faubert, man-of-the-match James Tomkins, Matthew Upson and Jonathan Spector defended manfully.
"They had a lot of possession but we could have nicked it at the end. When you're in the position we are, to come to Villa and get a point was nice.
"We defended really well. Matty and Tonks were brilliant, as were both full-backs, and I thought Specs got forward really well. We managed the way they played and could have won it."