Mark Noble insists the secret to West Ham United’s supreme away form is hard work and togetherness
Mark Noble insists the secret to West Ham United’s supreme away form is simply hard work and togetherness.
The Hammers have won more points and scored more goals than any other Barclays Premier League side on their travels this term, with Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Sunderland preserving their unbeaten away day record.
After falling two behind inside 22 minutes at the Stadium of Light, the visitors had to dig deep to claw themselves back into the contest and Noble felt it was a spirited response in testing circumstances.
“It’s down to hard work, simple as,” he explained. “We've got the ability to score goals in the team now, but it’s hard work and togetherness as a team. We're all in it together and that's the main thing. That's why we're getting results away from home.
“I think you could say it's a point gained, after going in at 2-1 down. They scored a couple of really good goals, I know the second one was a mistake, but the first one was a really well worked free-kick.
“They started really brightly but we knew that was going to happen because of the pressure they're under. In spells they were really sharp and when you're fighting for your life, you know what it's like.
“We're still learning, we've got players who are learning how to play in this league, but we showed a lot of character to come back from where we were and probably, in the end, should have won it.”
The Hammers have won more points and scored more goals than any other Barclays Premier League side on their travels this term, with Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Sunderland preserving their unbeaten away day record.
After falling two behind inside 22 minutes at the Stadium of Light, the visitors had to dig deep to claw themselves back into the contest and Noble felt it was a spirited response in testing circumstances.
“It’s down to hard work, simple as,” he explained. “We've got the ability to score goals in the team now, but it’s hard work and togetherness as a team. We're all in it together and that's the main thing. That's why we're getting results away from home.
“I think you could say it's a point gained, after going in at 2-1 down. They scored a couple of really good goals, I know the second one was a mistake, but the first one was a really well worked free-kick.
“They started really brightly but we knew that was going to happen because of the pressure they're under. In spells they were really sharp and when you're fighting for your life, you know what it's like.
“We're still learning, we've got players who are learning how to play in this league, but we showed a lot of character to come back from where we were and probably, in the end, should have won it.”
When asked why the Hammers were transformed after the break, Noble, quite rightly, pointed to Carl Jenkinson’s strike as the catalyst. It paved the way for Dimitri Payet’s second-half leveller and though a winner would prove elusive, the midfielder knows that a five-match unbeaten league run is not to be sniffed at, far from it.
“I think Jenko's goal was massive before half-time. You're going in at 2-1 then and they start to feel the nerves a little bit.
“We made another mistake for a goal, I made a mistake last week and Dimi's made one this week, but we've bailed each other out, we got a result a last week and this week as well.
“We keep the unbeaten run going, that's the most important thing. We've got Palace away and then Chelsea at home, so a couple of tough games coming up.”
“I think Jenko's goal was massive before half-time. You're going in at 2-1 then and they start to feel the nerves a little bit.
“We made another mistake for a goal, I made a mistake last week and Dimi's made one this week, but we've bailed each other out, we got a result a last week and this week as well.
“We keep the unbeaten run going, that's the most important thing. We've got Palace away and then Chelsea at home, so a couple of tough games coming up.”