Noble calls for patience after Hammers loss

West Ham captain Mark Noble has asked fans to be patient despite a slow start to the season, including a shock 4-2 loss to Watford last weekend.

The midfielder started the clash at the London Stadium as West Ham raced into a 2-0 lead, only to throw it away by conceding two goals in each half.

That left Slaven Bilic fuming, but with Manuel Lanzini and Dimitri Payet having only just returned to full fitness, Noble believes things are looking up for the Hammers.

And Payet, in particular, shone in the defeat, with a sensational assist for Michail Antonio’s second goal, producing a Cruyff turn and then a rabona to gift Antonio the goal.

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Noble said: “We have got players coming back from injury like Manu and Dimi. We have got to take the positives, we played fantastic in the first half but we conceded silly goals.

“That is the best we have played for a long while, in the first half. A couple of mistakes have cost us and we couldn’t recover.

“If we can go in 2-0 up at half-time it is a different game, but the mistakes have cost us in the end.

“There is a long way to go and we have to stay positive.

“We got punished and have to learn our lessons. We have still got new players coming in learning the league and we have a lot of players in their second season.”