Noble delighted with his showings this season

West Ham midfielder Mark Noble believes he is having his best ever season in the Hammers first team.

A regular when fit, the 23-year-old has been a consistent performer for the majority of the campaign, with his incisive passing a key component of the high tempo game-plan the Hammers have successfully employed over the past month.

Noble is the longest serving player at the club, making his debut in 2004 but had struggled to find consistency in his own game over the past couple of campaigns. Now in his seventh season feels he is playing as well as he ever has.

“This season is definitely my best. Creating goals and just my general play is where it should be and where I want to keep it,” Noble said. “I’m enjoying every minute of it.”

Playing alongside Scott Parker and Thomas Hitzlsperger has certainly helped, with the trio combining well in the middle of the park.

The tenacity from Parker, movement and shooting from Hizlsperger and passing from Noble make an ideal fit in the Premier League.

“I’m learning things off them every day. I still want to learn and improve. Playing in the midfield at the moment is an absolute pleasure to play in,” he said.

“I’ve always said that 4-4-2 is my best formation, but I am still playing as well as I ever have in a 4-3-3.

“The idea is to keep it as tight as we can. Play the ball when we can, pass it among ourselves and I think it is probably nice to watch at times.”

The Hammers have been aesthetically pleasing all over the park over the last few weeks and have the results to match, with consecutive wins over Liverpool (3-1) and Stoke (3-0) lifting them out of the relegation zone.

The Hammers were active in the transfer window, bringing in four players in January.

“I think the likes of Wayne Bridge, Demba Ba coming in, obviously Hitz coming back. They are good players. I think the recruitment in January was brilliant,” Noble said.

“The likes of Keano we’ve got to come back too, so things are definitely looking up.

“Let’s hope we can keep it up, we’ve got a tough game with Stoke next week in the quarter-final and then we’ve got Tottenham away which isn’t going to be an easy game either, but we are looking forward to it.”