West Ham United's Mark Noble knows he and his teammates will have to be careful when they take on Birkirakara FC on Thursday night.

The Hammers take on the minnows in their home country of Malta in the second leg of the second round of Europa League qualifying and midfielder Noble is well aware just how warm it will be as at this time of the year in southern Europe.

West Ham take a slender 1-0 lead into the return bout thanks to James Tomkins' late winner at Upton Park last week.

"It will be a challenge with the heat," 28-year-old Noble said.

"I don't think the game will be as quick was it was the other night because of the heat, but we're looking forward to it.

"Last Thursday was only our second game we've played in pre-season, so we're still unfit really and it was good to get the win. I know it was a late goal from 'Tonks', but they made it difficult for us.

"They were enthusiastic, they ran about a lot, but we got the win which was the most important thing and now we've got to go out there and try to finish the job."