Mark Noble has been appointed as West Ham's new club captain.
Noble is West Ham's longest-serving player and all-time leading Premier League appearance-maker. He succeeds Kevin Nolan, who left the club by mutual consent last month.
The 28-year-old paid tribute to Nolan and also spoke of the pride associated with captaining his local club, having graduated through West Ham's youth system.
"When you are at a massive Premier League club like West Ham United playing in the best league in the world, to be captain and be brought up in the same area is something very special for me, for my family and the fans because they can relate to it," he wrote in his column for West Ham's official matchday programme.
"I have stood in for Kevin Nolan in the past and, in my eyes, he has been a top captain for this club. He has brought the dressing room together and done all the stuff on the inside that nobody sees.
"I've watched Kev and how he dealt with things and I've learned a lot from him and hopefully I can be as good a captain as he was."
Noble captained the side and scored when they claimed an impressive 3-0 win at Liverpool last time out and they will chase a first home win of the campaign against Newcastle United on Monday night.
"I've got a bunch of great players here and over the last couple of weeks their performances and attitude have made things much easier for me as captain," Noble added.
"I captained the team at Liverpool and to lead the team out at Anfield for our first win their in 52 years, and scoring in front of the Kop was special and those memories will never leave me."
