Mark Noble has dropped a huge hint over the future of David Moyes at West Ham in an honest interview ahead of his return to the club.
When West Ham went into the pause for the World Cup it was to a cacophony of noise around Moyes’ job.
Three dismal home defeats in a week to Crystal Palace, Blackburn’s reserves and Leicester have left West Ham one point off the bottom three and out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle.
West Ham’s poor form – which stretches back a full year with just 13 wins in their last 42 Premier League games – sparked intense speculation that the Scot could be axed from the Hammers hotseat.
Co-owner David Sullivan spoke to Hammers News to give Moyes his full backing. But that did not stop claims from elsewhere that the boss is on a knife-edge when the Premier League resumes next weekend.
Again Sullivan spoke to Hammers News to deny reports that he had fallen out with the manager.
But fellow Hammers website Claret and Hugh has long maintained that Moyes effectively has four games to get a set number of points and remain manager when the Premier League restarts on Boxing Day.
Someone who is well used to uncertainty and negativity surrounding West Ham is former hero Mark Noble.
The ex skipper retired back in May but is returning to his boyhood club as sporting director on January 1st.
There have even been some suggestions that Noble could well replace Moyes as an interim manager should the West Ham owners wield the axe.
But now Noble has dropped a huge hint over the future of Moyes at West Ham in an honest interview.
Speaking to The Guardian he believes his appointment is very much linked to the current manager. And he has dismissed discontent among fans, saying it is just a ‘group you get at every club’.
“My relationship with David Moyes over the past two and a half years is probably one of the reasons that West Ham asked me to do this job,” Noble told The Guardian.
“Probably a group of fans, yes (are disillusioned). But there’s always going to be that at every club now. You hear people saying the fans are not happy with (Jurgen) Klopp at Liverpool.
“That’s the industry we work in now and, because of social media, it has become a lot louder.”
Whether you agree with Noble or not, his comments make it abundantly clear that West Ham have no plans to replace Moyes anytime soon.
His new sporting director role appears to be intrinsically linked to Moyes being in the Hammers hotseat.
But unless there is a big lift in performances and results after the restart the question will continue to be asked.
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