Mark Noble remains optimistic for the new Premier League season despite last week’s disappointing result against Manchester City in Iceland, with the midfielder saying the game served as the ‘perfect tune-up’ for Sunday’s opening fixture against Manchester United.
The Hammers succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s impressive City side thanks to goals from attacking trio Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling, capping of what has been a difficult pre-season.
The result was the Hammers second defeat in six games and the third time they have failed to find the net in 90 minutes.
Despite the result however, club captain Noble remains positive. Speaking on whufc.com, the midfielder said: “We’ve been away for four weeks really – we then flew into Iceland the day before the game [against Man City] and it was a really good workout.
“You know they’re going to be fighting for the Premier League title, and we play Man Utd next week, so the more fitness you get the better.
“We’ve brought in quality this summer. Chicha still needs to get match fit – he got a good 45 minutes on Friday and now we’ve got a good week of training at home before the first match. Joe [Hart] and Arnautovic have been with us for most of pre-season, so it has been good.”
Slaven Bilic’s men make to trip to Old Trafford on Sunday as they look to get off to a good start in the Premier League, however will face a huge challenge in a vastly improved Manchester United squad who have signed a number of high profile names and enjoyed a good pre-season.
“We are aiming to finish as high as possible, but so are ten other clubs.” Noble added. “That’s just the way the Premier League is.”
