Mark Noble said the power of West Ham United has come to the fore at London Stadium this week - firstly at Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Southampton, and then again at Tuesday's Family Fun Day.
The captain said the Hammers were inspired by the atmosphere created by the Claret and Blue Army at the weekend, when a capacity crowd created a hugely positive atmosphere on which the team clearly thrived.
Lifelong Hammer Noble was not surprised to hear his fellow supporters rally behind the players in what was a vital fixture, and called on fans to create similar surroundings for West Ham’s final four home matches.
As a team and a set of fans, we came together and got what we thoroughly deserved
Mark Noble
“Do you know what? I knew the supporters would get right behind us, because we’ve been in tough situations before and I knew they would turn up in their numbers and make noise,” said the skipper, who met hundreds of fans at Tuesday's Family Fun Day at London Stadium. “That was partly down to us, of course, but I could tell from the moment I walked out of the tunnel that they had come fully in voice and behind us.
“You would never understand it unless you’ve been there and felt it in the middle of the pitch. When you’ve got 50-odd thousand people behind you, it’s a massive boost for everyone and you saw that in the players with the way we started the game.
“We knew how important the game was but, collectively as a team and a set of fans, we came together and got what we thoroughly deserved.”
While West Ham’s supporters produced the goods in the stands, the players responded by producing the goods on the pitch, scoring three first-half goals to kill off Southampton before the break.
Marko Arnautovic scored twice to take his recent tally to nine in his last 13 appearances after Joao Mario had netted his first for the Club with a rasping, rising strike into the top corner.
At the other end of the pitch, Noble was impressed by 19-year-old Declan Rice, who helped to shackle Saints strikers Charlie Austin, Manolo Gabbiadini and Shane Long with an assured performance at left centre-back.
“All in all, it probably could have been more, but we were over the moon with a three-nil result. There was a lot of pressure after what happened a few weeks ago, but we rose to it.
“When he is playing like that, sometimes Marko is unplayable. Arthur Masuaku also came back and he was fantastic. We lost Ginge on the day before the game and Declan Rice stepped in and he was outstanding. For a young player to play under that much pressure in a game of that magnitude was massive for him.
“All in all, the whole team was fantastic. I said to them before we went out ‘this is our home stadium, so let’s play like we’re at home’ and we did that.
“We’ve got four more home games and if the atmosphere is like it was on Saturday and the players put that much effort and determination in, I’m hoping we can play like we did against Southampton, like I know we can play, and pick up more points.”