Skip to content

Mark Noble admits arrival of Andy Carroll and Matt Jarvis convinced him to stay at West Ham

Image: Mark Noble: Midfielder was inspired to stay by new West Ham signings

Mark Noble has admitted the arrival of Andy Carroll and Matt Jarvis at West Ham convinced him to sign a new contract with the club.

Before Carroll joined on transfer deadline day, Noble was being linked with a move to Fulham.

No-brainer

"I don't know if I thought that I might be leaving," he said. "Sometimes, with contract negotiations, there can be nit-picking stuff that you're not quite happy with because it was a long-term deal. "If I'd been single and living in a flat on my own, I don't think I would have thought twice about it. "But I've got two young children and a wife so I needed to make sure it wasn't just about me. "Thankfully, we came to an agreement because I love living at home - I'm from around here and I love living in London so it was a no-brainer in the end." Noble was confident West Ham could aim for more than simply survival in the Premier League as they look to cement further their status in the top half of the table by beating QPR. The game had looked set to see Noble reunited with a player who decided this summer he could not realise his ambitions at Upton Park, Robert Green. But the goalkeeper's move to Rangers has arguably backfired, with Julio Cesar having taken his place. Noble refused to put the boot in, hailing Green's contribution to West Ham's promotion and insisting the keeper would bounce back. He added: "Some people say the grass is never greener on the other side. But you don't know, obviously, until you've been on the other side."

Around Sky