Mark Noble hopes to be fit enough to return to action and lead West Ham United’s charge down the road to Wembley.
The Hammers captain was ruled out of the Premier League fixtures with Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion with a knee injury, but has returned to training and hopes to play some part in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup fourth round meeting with Bolton Wanderers at London Stadium.
Having reached the semi-finals of the competition on two previous occasions – in 2011 and 2014 – Noble would love to go one better and lead his boyhood club out at the Home of Football in February.
I’ve been to the semi-finals of this competition twice and would love to reach the final
Mark Noble
“I trained over the weekend and am hoping to be fit enough to play some part,” said the skipper, who has appeared in 17 League Cup ties in Claret and Blue. “If I do play, I’ll certainly be determined to end our recent record against Bolton. I was told we have lost the last eight games against them, which is an unbelievable run.
“The last time we beat Bolton, Carlos Tevez scored two and I got one of my favourite goals, a volley, when we were fighting to escape relegation ten years ago. We need to end that run tonight!
“The manager may choose to change things up a bit but, whoever he picks, we have the quality in the squad and the motivation to get through to the fourth round. I’ve been to the semi-finals of this competition twice and would love to reach the final.”
Noble rightly sees West Ham as favourites to see off the Championship’s bottom club, who have failed to win any of the eight league matches they have contested this season.
But with a manager in charge who has already led a League Two club to the League Cup final in Phil Parkinson, the No16 is taking nothing for granted.
“Tuesday’s tie presents us with an opportunity to win another home game and to get through to the last 16 of a competition we believe we can win,” he confirmed.
“Bolton will not make things easy, though. They might not have made a great start to the season in the Championship, but cup matches are a different proposition and they will come to London Stadium motivated and believing they can pull off an upset.
“In addition, their manager Phil Parkinson has already led a League Two club, Bradford City, to the final of this tournament, so he will certainly not be intimidated. So, as is always the case, we will need to be on it from the kick-off and not give Bolton a chance to settle here, as we did against Huddersfield Town in the Premier League last week.”
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