I know West Ham probably better than anyone...I'm ready for this

MARK NOBLE'S tutor at Harvard University will perhaps, if she reads the introduction to his autobiography, be more impressed with the financial enterprise than the dubious ethics of an earlier money-making deal.

- Ken Dyer

"We were always trying our luck," he writes in his book, Boleyn Boy. "West Ham had no idea that they were responsible for our pocket money. My mate had a girlfriend who worked in one of the kiosks at Upton Park.

"The deal was incredible. We gave her £5 for a burger and a Coke and she gave us £20 back in change, which might explain why West Ham never seemed to have enough money to buy new players." Things have changed a good deal since those days for that cheeky youngster from Canning Town who will, on January 2, begin his new job as West Ham's sporting director.

The fans have been used to seeing their East End hero giving no less than everything in every one of the 550 senior games he played for his beloved club.

The tears when he retired at the end of last season have long since dried and - after a few months off to spend time with his family he is ready to return for what he calls "this next chapter in my life."

The effervescence of Noble's personality shines through in his book, but there is also the desolation of relegation which, as he looks forward to the first day in his office at the club's training ground, has more relevance following the team's recent dismal run.

As he did on some dark days as a player, though, Noble will front up and meet the challenge head on.