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There was one significant statistic that emerged from West Ham's 3-1 win at Burnley last Saturday.

No – not the three headed goals from the hugely-impressive Diafra Sahko, the ever-improving Enner Valencia and the re-vitalised Carlton Cole.

It was the amount of effort and running put in by Mark Noble. He in fact ran more and covered more ground than anyone else.

When it is taken into account that he has missed two matches because of a calf injury and the match at Turf Moor was his return, that is worth noting. And, by the way, he lasted the whole 90 minutes.

Naturally, human nature dictates that the summer arrivals at Upton Park – Sahko, Valencia, Cheikhou Kouyate, Alex Song among them – have played key roles in the resurgence under Sam Allardyce.

But it would be wrong to under-estimate the contribution of Noble. He is very much the unsung hero at Upton Park this season.

Over the years, Noble has seen it all – relegation, promotion, the unease among the fans at the type of football produced by the team. He was, after all, in the team that beat Hull 2-1 back in March and were jeered off the field.

But Noble has stuck by West Ham through it all. Born in Canning Town he was destined to play for the team he supported as a boy.

(Image: Steve Bardens)

He has played in a host of positions from midfield anchor man to supporting the attack. And in no season has influence been greater than in the present campaign which has seen West Ham recover from an inept performance against Southampton when they lost 3-1 to the heady heights of the top half of the Premier League.

Relegation is not on the agenda at Upton Park this season and that is in no small way thanks to the efforts of Mark Noble.

At 27, it would seem that the chances of representing his country at full international level are fading. It would seem the graduation from Under-21 football – he played 20 times for England – to the senior team is not to be.

And yet...

On November 18, England play Scotland in a friendly. England manager Roy Hodgson may use that game to give many of his regular first choice players a break.

And that could be the opportunity to give Noble the reward his consistency has deserved. An impressive performance against Manchester City at Saturday lunch-time would do his chances the world of good.