Mark tells of hurt at cup humiliation

There is no bigger West Ham fan than Mark Noble and taking one look at him after Wednesday night’s Capital One Cup humiliation you could see just how much it hurt.

“I think a lot of things have come at just the wrong time,” said the 26-year-old midfielder after the 6-0 thrashing.

“We are struggling in the league and went to Forest resting some of our senior players and we got beat in a bad way.

“Then we have come to Man City with what you could call a stronger team and get beat comfortably again.

“We have just got to pick ourselves up, forget about this and show a bit of pride.”

Noble’s inclusion at the Etihad was one of the few bright spots of a damp, miserable night as few expected him to make an appearance after limping off at Fulham on New Year’s Day.

“I had a problem with the muscle down the side of my shin,” revealed Noble.

“I was in a lot of pain from the West Brom game, tried it against Fulham, but it wasn’t right and I couldn’t really move.

“So I rested it for three or four days and had a lot of treatment and the manager said can you do 60 minutes for me and I was more than happy to do that.

“It was fine. I didn’t have any reaction, but once the goals went in and we were out of the game, the best bet was to bring me off and look forward to the Cardiff game.”

Noble certainly tried his best, but him and the rest of the players were simply swamped by the talents of the City team.

“At home they are exceptional. Just look how they have demolished teams over the past six months,” he said.

“Once they get a couple of goals they almost go into enjoyment mode. You try and press them and they go bang, bang, bang and it is 3-0. From there it is near impossible to get back.”

It certainly was and but for the heroics of Adrian in goal, City could have reached double figures.

“I was just looking at Adrian in the dressing room and I feel really sorry for him,” said West Ham’s longest serving player.

“He played on Sunday against Forest and then comes here and lets in another six, but it would have been a lot more if it hadn’t been for him so he can be proud of himself.”

So how do West Ham bounce back from a nightmare week which has seen them concede 11 goals and score none?

“You just have to get on with it,” said Noble. “You can’t dwell on it or feel sorry for yourself because if you do that, you will get punished again.

“We need 11 men going out there at Cardiff on Saturday who are brave and willing to throw their bodies on the line and give everything for the club.”

You know one person who will do just that is Noble. He is a proud Hammer and right now he is hurting badly.