Kevin Nolan has words of thanks for everyone at West Ham United following his decision to move on...
Since the first day I came to West Ham I’ve really enjoyed my time at the Club. It was a Club which was at rock bottom at the time, having just been relegated and a lot of changes had gone on behind the scenes.
It was a challenge I was really looking forward to and thankfully that great day we had at the Play-Off Final got us up.
Although we weren’t great on the day at Wembley, we thoroughly deserved the promotion so I was delighted with that.
Then to sustain the Premier League status for so long – and so easily – after coming up was such a fantastic achievement
The Play-Off Final will go down as one of the best days of my career. I’ve scored a couple of hat-tricks in the Premier League too and I still remember the one against Reading quite vividly. They had won the league the previous season, but that game came at the end of the season when they were down and we had stayed up comfortably, so that was another great day.
There were the two legs of the Play-Off Semi as well. I could go through a good few of them to be honest, but they are the ones that stand out from my point of view.
This has been a fantastic time for me since I walked in the door. I’ve had just over four fantastic years and I’d like to thank everyone who has made it so easy for me to settle down here with my family.
My boy speaks like a cockney now, so I don’t know if I’ll be moving back to Liverpool any time soon! Since I’ve come here it’s felt like home and it’s a real possibility that it’ll be home for a long time so I thank everyone who has made that possible from inside the Club to all the players I’ve played with.
People don’t see the staff behind the scenes who work so hard for us, and obviously I’d like to thank the fans too.
A little part of me wishes I was a bit younger when I came here so I could be part of what is going to be a fantastic transition going into the Olympic Stadium. I’ve seen all the videos and everything that’s gone into it and it’s going to be something special.
It’s exciting times for the Club and it’s about the boys now making sure they keep that Premier League status this season and building to ensure that they then go on and start challenging the European clubs because that Stadium will deserve it.
Thanks for everything
Nobby