Ahead of West Ham United’s first Premier League match at the London Stadium, Mark Noble says the place is even better than he thought it would be.
The club captain, who came through the academy at West Ham and spent the first 10 years of his professional career at the Boleyn Ground, got his first tastes of the new stadium with a UEFA Europa League tie and a friendly against Juventus this summer.
West Ham host AFC Bournemouth on Sunday, with 57,000 spectators set to attend.
"It is so much better than what I thought it was going to be," Noble said at the 2016/17 Premier League Season Launch. "I knew it was an amazing stadium but I'd never been there when there were fans in the ground.
"For me it was a new experience as well, to lead the team out, look up, see the stand and hear the noise, it was just amazing.
"We've got to get used to it quickly and pick up points, whether it feels like home or not. Hopefully we can get a bit of confidence in the new stadium and the fans will enjoy it.”
Slaven Bilic, who led West Ham to seventh last season, in his first campaign as the club’s manager, is hoping for early league victories there to make the transition as smooth as possible.
"You need time to adjust to it, you need victories to have a good feeling about that,” Bilic said. “We need a few wins and the more points we pick up to begin with it will go quicker and smoother.
"There will be 55 to 60,000 people there, it's great to have that support. It's a brilliant stadium and we like it."
