West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has backed Mark Noble after the Hammers captain came under fire for his performance against Chelsea on Monday night.
An errant pass from the midfielder led to Chelsea’s opening goal mid way through the first half, but Bilic told West Ham’s official website that players should not be judged on one mistake.
The Croatian used the stark contrast between Barcelona’s performances in the two legs of their Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain as an example. He also questioned why only a few months ago the media were asking questions about a potential England call up for Noble if he wasn’t a good player:
“You can’t just judge a player on one mistake. If it’s like that, Barcelona should have sold all their players after the first leg in Paris. Now they should give them all long-term contracts. Paris the other way around. Sell them all.”
“Before Chelsea I was asked the question: Does Mark Noble deserve an England call-up? Now, after nothing basically, I am being asked: What about Mark Noble?”
West Ham’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea leaves them in 11th place in the Premier League table as they head to the Vitality stadium to face Bournemouth tomorrow afternoon. Bilic’s side have been on a good run away from home with seven points coming from their last three encounters on their travels. With Bournemouth currently suffering a dip in their form since the New Year, West Ham will be looking to take advantage.
