West Ham United skipper Mark Noble urged supporters to stick with his side despite a disappointing 2-0 defeat by Watford on Sunday.
Will Hughes and Richarlison’s goals gave the Hornets all three Premier League points at Vicarage Road but it could have been a different story had the Hammers, in manager David Moyes’ first game in charge, taken a number of superb chances which fell their way.
Cheikhou Kouyate was denied brilliantly by Heurelho Gomes in the first half and fired over from close range in the second period, while Marko Arnautovic and Manuel Lanzini also saw efforts miraculously kept out of the Watford net.
Marco Silva’s men took the points, however, condemning West Ham to a third defeat in four league games and leaving them inside the bottom three, and Noble admitted it was a frustrating evening in Hertfordshire.
“It’s a very difficult situation for us,” the captain said, before imploring the Claret and Blue Army to play their part in turning the season around. “The fans show their emotions, and rightly so because they’re not happy and they pay a lot of money to come and watch us.
“I know it’s hard, I know they’re frustrated, and we are too because we know we’re better than what we’re showing, but I urge them to stick by us and hopefully the good times will come back.
I know the fans are frustrated, and we are too because we know we’re better than what we’re showing, but I urge them to stick by us
Mark Noble
The Hammers have been working hard on the training ground to get things right since Moyes’ appointment as manager, but it was a disappointing start to the Scot’s reign.
And fragile confidence is a problem the Hammers are now encountering, according to Noble, particularly after Hughes’ fortuitous opener for the hosts put the visitors on the back foot after just eleven minutes.
“To be honest, we went into the game with a lot of belief. We have done a lot of work in the last couple of weeks but we conceded an early goal and it’s an uphill battle from there.
“We had two good chances to equalise in the first half but in the end, I thought Watford were the better team. They have been together with their manager for a while and we’ve had a couple away on international duty and we’ve trained with our young lads.
“But it could have been a different if we’d finished our chances but that’s the way it’s going at the moment. There’s a bit of a lack of belief in our players and I think we showed it.
“You have to stick together and work hard and as soon as you start having a go at each other, it becomes hard.
“Do I believe we have got enough and will be OK? Yes, I do. But it will be tough and we need to play better than we did tonight.”