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Whelan: Noble to bring dressing room together

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Noel Whelan has claimed that he expects Mark Noble to bring the West Ham dressing room together over the course of the international break. 

The Hammers extended their winless streak to six in the Premier League with a 3-0 defeat to Burnley over the weekend, and BBC Radio Leeds pundit Whelan has claimed that he expects the skipper to step up to the plate over the next fortnight.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “I watched them against Burnley and they were woeful. They could have lost 5-0 and that will be a big worry for Manuel Pellegrini

“There are some fantastic players in that team, and it’s unfair to heap all the blame on the manager.

“Mark Noble is the captain and the senior player, and basically the manager on the pitch. I’m expecting him to get the dressing room together and remind the players of their responsibilities.

“They will all respect him and what he’s achieved. The international break is perfect timing to take stock and have meetings to put things right.”

OPINION

If anybody is going to step up to the plate in an effort to turn things around in that West Ham dressing room, you would expect it to be Mark Noble. The veteran skipper is a Hammer through and through, and it must hurt him more than most to see his side slump like this. There are more than enough talented players in that squad to turn things around, and they are still just the four points of fifth place, but it’s been a question of character more than anything in recent weeks. There simply hasn’t been the guile or the fight needed for the Hammers to make real headway in their past few matches, and with a difficult fixture list coming up, including clashes with Tottenham, Chelsea, Wolves, and Liverpool, they need to get themselves back on track as soon as possible. The hope will be that a break is just what’s needed to turn things around.

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