West Ham United fans have been calling for Mark Noble to be dropped for some time.
Slaven Bilic has told the Belfast Telegraph that West Ham United midfielder Mark Noble has been brilliant recently, but supporters of the London club do not seem to agree.
Noble has been kept in West Ham’s starting line-up, despite criticism of him rising.
The central midfielder took a lot of flak following his most recent performance against Chelsea.
Noble gave the ball away cheaply, which led to Chelsea’s first-goal, and he was accused of looking off the pace throughout.
However, Bilic insists that West Ham’s captain is not playing poorly.
“Mark is our captain, he is our skipper and he has done really well recently,” Bilic said.
“He is the leader of the team. He keeps us balanced. Sometimes he has a great game and sometimes he doesn’t, but overall he is playing good for us.
“He is also more than a player on the pitch. His presence means a lot for the others around him. He is very influential, especially when it is not going well. He motivates the players and he cheers them up.”
Bilic’s words suggests that he intends to stick by Noble, but West Ham fans won’t be best pleased by that.
Hammers supporters have been calling for Noble to be dropped to the substitutes’ bench for a considerable amount of time now.
West Ham are next in action against Bournemouth at Dean Court tomorrow.
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