West Ham United captain Mark Noble, has stated that he is "angry and disappointed" by the behaviour of exiled Hammer Dimitri Payet who shared his desire to leave the club.

Better off not playing

Payet has been a key figure in Slaven Bilic's side since his move from Marseille last summer, but has failed to live up to the same dizzy heights in the current campaign.

There have been rumours of a possible exit since the summer, but it was confirmed by Bilic on Thursday his desire to leave the club and his refusal to play or train with the side.

The Frenchman certainly wasn't missed on Saturday with the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace, and after the game Noble shared his disappointment with his exiled teammate.

"I am angry and disappointed," Noble told Sky Sports. "Because I have always said that he is one of the best players I have ever played with."

“I had," he stated. "And I say had because I haven't really spoken to him for the last two or three weeks - a great relationship with him."

"But I don't know his reasons," the skipper admitted. “I am not going to comment on why he wanted to leave."

"But I do know that if someone doesn't want to play for the team," he stressed. "Then they are better off not even playing.”

​"I have been here all my life," the 29-year-old proclaimed. "So I find it hard to realise that someone wouldn't want to play for the club."

"It's a massive club and he is absolutely adored - was adored here - by the fans," Noble added. "But football and fans change quickly.”

Settles the nerves

It was a crucial clash at the London Stadium, but goals from Sofiane Feghouli, Andy Carroll and Manuel Lanzini scoring the goal to gain the crucial three points.

Noble admitted that it was a satisfying end to a difficult week for the Hammers, and said that they can now look forward to visiting Teesside on Saturday to take on Middlesbrough.

"It was a definitely a satisfying end to a difficult week,” he confirmed to whufc.com. “Obviously we had the Dimitri Payet situation."

"Big Sam [Allardyce] coming back and Tonks (James Tomkins), who is a friend of ours, coming back too," the midfielder stated. "So there were a lot of factors in play."

“I’m just happy that the situation got sorted out," the skipper stressed. "A win settles nerves and puts everything on the backburner and we can look forward to Middlesbrough.”

West Ham United will take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday, January 21 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.