Noble happy with Saints victory

Mark Noble has praised West Ham United's team spirit, mentality and quality after putting in a Man of the Match performance against Southampton.

Noble scored twice - the first via a long-range free-kick and the second from the penalty spot - as the Hammers scored four second half goals to ensure victory over the Saints.

Man of the Match Noble praised his side's attitude after a testing first-half which provided few chances for either side and saw the Hammers struggle to find any sort of energy and fluency in their game.

"We all said at half-time that we have been very good at home but we cannot play like we have every game," he told West Ham TV. "You have to give credit to Southampton because they closed us down and made it very difficult for us.

"We defended very well and at 0-0 we were still massively in the game and knew we had a chance to go on and win it which thankfully we did."

Despite his two goals, Noble was quick to shun all of the plaudits, insisting that every member of the team had played their part in a fantastic second-half performance.

"To get four against Southampton was fantastic but that is what can happen when you have quality players like Yossi Benayoun, big Andy Carroll and Nobby (Kevin Nolan).

"Matt Jarvis also had a very good game and Tonks (James Tomkins) did a fantastic job playing at right-back, despite having not played two months. It was great for the lads".

The Boleyn Ground once again provided an electric backdrop to proceedings and Noble praised the crowd's patience and reaction following a disappointing first half.

"We are together as a group and we said to each other at half-time that we cannot go 3-0 up early on every week [like we did against Fulham].

"The fans clapped us off at half-time which is what we always need. We came out for the second half, played a lot better and we won the game four-one."

Noble opened the scoring less than a minute after the break from a free-kick from 40 yards that bounced into the top corner after James Collins had wrong-footed goalkeeper Artur Boruc by missing with his attempted flick. The Hammer of the Year said the goal might have looked lucky, but it was anything but.

"We practice set-pieces in training to make sure we get the ball in the right area and it is about time I scored from one because I have taken about a thousand and none have gone straight in!

His second goal from the penalty spot came after Adam Lallana's goal had put the home fans on edge by halving Southampton's deficit. However, while the supporters might have been in doubt that Noble would convert from 12 yards after Jose Fonte's handball, the midfielder was supremely confident.

"I don't want to talk about penalties because I do not want to jinx it, but I know I am going to take them and luckily it went in!"

The Hammers travel to the DW Stadium next weekend to face Wigan Athletic and Noble is confident of another impressive showing both on and off the pitch.

"We set a target for ourselves at the start of the season and we have met it. We are enjoying everything at the minute, especially at home, and like I said the fans have been fantastic.

"They were behind us all the way as they were against Arsenal even though we lost 3-1. We have got a good team spirit at the moment and we conduct ourselves brilliantly every game."