West Ham need fans for Premier League survival bid - Noble

Mark Noble has appealed to West Ham fans to show the "class" that was absent from London Stadium last weekend.

Published : Mar 14, 2018 21:41 IST

Mark Noble has urged West Ham's disaffected supporters to channel their passion into the team's fight against relegation from the Premier League.

Ugly scenes marred the Hammers' 3-0 defeat to Burnley at London Stadium on Saturday, when three spectators invaded the pitch at different moments throughout the game to protest against the club's management.

Noble physically remonstrated with one fan, while co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold were ushered away from the directors' box amid a torrent of abuse.

West Ham have called an emergency meeting of its core Safety Advisory Group in response to the crowd trouble and are set to hand out lifetime bans to the individuals who invaded the pitch and "threw missiles".

"We don't want to see that. I don't like to see the club I love dragged through the papers like it has been," Noble said in a club interview.

"I'm as passionate as the fans, I want West Ham to do well whether I'm in the team or not. But sometimes not like that.

"You can't show emotions like that by running on the pitch. For a Premier League football club and the way our club has always been, we're a really passionate bunch of people but at times we show a bit of class and that wasn't the case on Saturday."

David Moyes' men are attending a training camp in Miami as they seek to maximise a break between fixtures.

Three successive league defeats have left them hovering three points above the drop zone.

"I see it as we've got two options. We either crumble, fold and give up, or we come together and train hard," Noble said.

"My aim for this club is to try and be the best it can be. Things have to change, of course they do, but I'm pretty sure that if we get through this season and regroup in the summer, hopefully we can get together, work out the differences with the fans and push on as one football club.

"Results haven't been ideal but I'm really positive we'll get through it, go away in the summer and come back and hopefully have a much better season next season."

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