Premier League football is all set to change when it returns later this month with all matches set to be played behind closed doors.
And for West Ham captain Mark Noble, who is one of the players whose every word is likely to be picked up by TV microphones positioned around the pitch, that presents a unique challenge of its own..."I can promise you now that I won’t be able to stop myself swearing at times," the West Ham captain told The Times. "That’s fact. That’s 18 years of just doing it. Sometimes you’re probably going to have to hold your tongue a little bit.
"It’s going to be strange. Probably the one thing out of everything that I’m least looking forward to is playing in empty stadiums because football is about fans, really. The atmosphere and the adrenaline comes from the fans.
"[But] we all know the implications of not finishing the season so we need to do it. We’ve got to get back to it."
And even though the resumption of the 2019/20 seaosn could yet ultimately end in West Ham being relegated to the Championship, if they are unable to accrus sufficient points between now and the beginning of August, Noble feels it is a price worth paying.
"That’s what we’re paid to do, that’s what we love to do," he added. "If you’re in the bottom three at the last game of the season then you probably deserve to go down. If you’re at the top, you deserve to win the league.
"I spoke to [Liverpool captain] Jordan Henderson a lot the last ten weeks and it would be a real shame if he didn’t lift the [Premier League] trophy, because Liverpool fully deserve it."
For Noble, the recent lockdown period has proved something of a bonus as it has granted the 33-year-old an opportunity to spend more time with family - even though, with his top flight career coming to an end, it means his own personal tally of games played for the club is unlikely to be extended by many more.
"I’m 33 and don’t know how long I’m going to be in football, especially playing week in, week out in the Premier League because it’s unforgiving but I’m still really fit," he mused.
"[But] I’ve loved spending time with Carly and the kids. I’ve loved being at home, just doing silly things like going on a bike ride with the children and playing football in the garden with my little boy.
"I haven’t done that properly for 15 to 16 years because [pre-lockdown] you train, you come home, you’re tired. I have a little kickabout with my boy and my back’s aching, my legs hurting.
"But I’ve had so much energy to do stuff at home. I’ve been through the forest on a mountain bike. I’ve cleaning the garage out, stuff that I’d walk in from training before and go, ‘I can’t be bothered to do that’."
You can read more from Henry Winter's exclusive interview with Mark on The TImes' website.
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