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The young midfielder was left devastated in April when his West Ham team-mate tragically died aged 20 after a three-year battle with testicular cancer.

Five months on, Moncur admits that he has struggled to come to terms with the loss of his closest friend.

Moncur has the Australian's name tattooed on his left arm as a permanent tribute.

And the 21-year-old, currently on loan at League One Colchester, is determined to make his late mate proud.

"Whenever I think I am struggling or having a bit of a bad time, I just need to look down at my arm and everything is put into perspective," said Moncur.

Having the tattoo was the first thing Moncur did when he found out his close friend had died.

"By doing it, I know he is always going to be there and a part of me," he said.

"Having that reminder of Dylan drives me on to achieve. I try to play every game for him. I am just thankful I can be out there. It just shows how lucky you are to be alive and doing something that you love."

The Hammers also paid a lasting mark of respect to Tombides by retiring his number 38 shirt in a moving tribute which saw the young forward's father, Jim, and brother, Taylor, lay his jersey in the centre circle at Upton Park.

Moncur was on loan at Scottish club Partick Thistle at the time.

"I was up in Scotland and I got a call from Taylor telling me Dylan had gone. I just could not believe it," he said.

"It was devastating, one of the worst moments of my life. It's still really hard for me. I cannot really explain how difficult these last few months have been.

"It was awful for his family. I am close with them and it was so hard to take as it came so unexpectedly.

"The club gave great support and all the boys attended his funeral. The support they gave to everyone affected was unreal. I am really thankful for what they did there."

Moncur, a devout Christian like his former footballer father John, believes his faith has helped him to grieve and come through one of the darkest periods of his life.

Prior to every match, Moncur drops to his knees to pray and admits Tombides is now always in his thoughts.

"I normally just say thank you to God for this chance and always include Dylan in it," he said.

"I know he is watching down on me and is in a better place now. I had to deal with it, but my faith was a great source of comfort.

"My dad has always been there for me. He has played at the top level and he knows all about dealing with things like that. He helped me through it."

On the pitch, Moncur has made a solid start to life at Colchester, scoring twice in his opening five appearances.

But with the winless U's struggling in 23rd spot in the table, manager Joe Dunne was sacked this week with academy boss Tony Humes replacing him.

"It's hard going to a new team, especially when you do not know what is going to happen," added Moncur ahead of today's trip to Walsall.

"I am a positive person, I look to the future and the next match in front of me, and how I can affect it.

"Obviously I want to play for West Ham, but I also want to catch the eye of bigger teams, which is understandable.

"I really like playing here and enjoy it. But I am just going to play each game as it comes and see what happens when my loan is up in January."