West Ham midfielder Mark Noble has defended under-fire captain Kevin Nolan from those Hammer fans who have cheered his substitution in the last three games. But Noble insists his 31 year old midfielder partner still has an important role to play at Upton Park.
"Of course he has, he is our captain," stated Noble. "Kev is brilliant in the dressing room and he has been unbelievable for us. He is big enough and strong enough to handle all that sort of stuff, so I am sure he will be fine.
"He is the gaffer's man and he looks after the dressing room and all of the problems in there. You need someone like that.
"I do not think the gaffer has taken him off because of the way he was playing, he just wanted to change things."
