Mark Noble described Saturday’s defeat to AFC Bournemouth as a wake-up call for his West Ham United team, saying they need to ‘buck their ideas up’ if they are to bounce back swiftly.
Strong words from the No16, following a loss to the newly-promoted Cherries which was littered with individual errors throughout the team.
West Ham were the architects of their own downfall on an afternoon they will want to swiftly forget, conceding four goals to last season’s Championship winners.
It does not get any easier for the Hammers in the short term, with a trip to Liverpool next on the agenda, hence Noble’s honest warning to his team.
The midfielder, who took over the captain’s armband after Kevin Nolan departed the action at half-time on Saturday, certainly led by example.
His statistically-calculated match rating of 7.9 by WhoScored.com was the highest on the West Ham team and only bettered by three Bournemouth players – hat-trick scorer Callum Wilson, Simon Francis and Steve Cook.
Noble’s pass completion rate of 84% was higher than anyone else in the West Ham team, as was his number of tackles (4) and touches (59).
He also scored from the spot, sending Artur Boruc the wrong way with his 58th minute penalty.
The result did not go his, or the Hammers’ way, but Noble will hope to help put his words into action when the Hammers return to action on Merseyside.
Check out more stats from the game and analyse it for yourself in our Match Centre here.