Kevin Nolan is the latest guest to appear on the new official West Ham United podcast, Iron Cast.
The former Hammers captain and current assistant coach sat down with hosts Chris Scull and James Collins for a fascinating 45-minute conversation.
Nolan reflects on his playing career in Claret and Blue, which saw him help rebuild the Club following relegation and captain the Irons to the Premier League under the management of Sam Allardyce via the unforgettable EFL Championship Play-Off final in 2012 – a game Collins admitted watching poolside in Miami on Matty Etherington’s stag do!
The 41-year-old discusses how he, Big Sam and the squad established the Hammers back in the top-flight over the following three years before both departed the Boleyn Ground in the summer of 2015.
Nolan returned to east London in 2020, when he joined David Moyes’ coaching staff, and he, Scull and Collins share fond memories of West Ham’s historic UEFA Europa Conference League victory in Prague in June, and the celebrations that followed that saw Nolan share a special moment with fellow captains Mark Noble and Declan Rice.
On a more serious and poignant note, Nolan and Collins remember the late Gary Speed. Both shared a friendship and dressing room with the midfielder, Nolan as a young captain at Bolton Wanderers and Collins as a teammate and player under Speed’s management for the Wales national team.
Nolan reveals how Speed was a big cricket fan and how, after watching the 2005 Ashes together and developing his own interest in cricket and working with sports psychologist Mike Ford, he would meet young South Africa skipper Graeme Smith to share experiences and their approach to captaincy.
Collins talks about how Speed revolutionised the Wales setup, laying the foundations for the Dragons’ recent successes, which saw them reach the UEFA Euro 2016 semi-finals and qualify for their first FIFA World Cup finals in 64 years in 2022.
Speed passed away in 2011, and neither man will ever forget the impact he had on their lives and careers.
The latest episode of Iron Cast closes with Nolan talking about West Ham’s ambitions to ‘keep building’ and go on another long European run in the UEFA Europa League this season.
