MX23RW : Friday, March 21 13:34:50| >> :120:65353:65353:

Mark Noble hopes to bring curtain down on West Ham career with European glory

Mark Noble hopes to bring curtain down on West Ham career with European glory
© Reuters
Captain Mark Noble is in line to start against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night at the beginning of West Ham's first ever Europa League group stage.

Mark Noble wants to bring the curtain down on his West Ham career with European glory.

The Hammers' club captain is in line to start against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday night at the beginning of West Ham's first ever Europa League group stage campaign, in what is his 18th and final season at the club.

With his Premier League game time restricted these days by the form of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek, 34-year-old Noble is desperate to grab his chance on the continent, especially with 2,000 West Ham fans making the trip to Croatia.

The long-serving midfielder said: "It's an amazing occasion. It's been three or four months of excitement, looking forward to the draw, and we're here now with a full squad, everyone ready to go and play, so we are well prepared and really excited about everything.

"My main aim this season is to make sure we have a good Premier League season, hopefully progress through the Europa League group stages and end my playing career at West Ham on a high note.

"Getting into this competition last year was fantastic and once you enter a competition the aim is to win it – and I don't see why we can't do that.

"The main aim is to win and hopefully we can put on a show for our travelling fans."

Noble has seen it all during his time in east London; relegations, play-off wins, cup final defeats, takeovers, stadium moves and managerial upheaval.

But he feels under David Moyes, the club can at last start laying the foundations to set their sights even higher than the Europa League.

"I've seen some ups and downs," he smiled. "But we've actually had a really solid two years.

"If you look at the manager's Everton side it was strong and could compete in every game and that's how we are now.

"I think if we can do what we've done over the last two years and build on it – this year the Europa League is fantastic – but why can't we set our sights further and keep pushing on?

"We've got a much better foundation now and hopefully we'll keep progressing."

Moyes is set to make further changes with new signings Kurt Zouma, Nikola Vlasic, Alphonse Areola and Alex Kral all poised for full debuts.

But Moyes confirmed Michail Antonio is in his thinking to start after the striker's red card at Southampton handed him an enforced rest against Manchester United on Sunday.

ID:463860:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3300:
Written by
P A

Click here for more stories about Mark Noble

Click here for more stories about West Ham United

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
West Ham United's Michail Antonio celebrates scoring their second goal against Crystal Palace on August 28, 2021
Read Next:
Dinamo Zagreb single out Michail Antonio as West Ham's dangerman
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool29217169274270
2Arsenal291610353242958
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest29166749351454
4Chelsea29147853371649
5Manchester CityMan City29146955401548
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2814594738947
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton29121164842647
8Fulham2912984338545
9Aston Villa2912984145-445
10Bournemouth29128948361244
11Brentford29125125045541
12Crystal Palace2810993633339
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd29107123740-337
14Tottenham HotspurSpurs291041555431234
15Everton2971393236-434
16West Ham UnitedWest Ham2997133349-1634
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2975174058-1826
18Ipswich TownIpswich2938182862-3417
19Leicester CityLeicester2945202565-4017
20Southampton2923242170-499


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!