'˜We've got lads who will die for the Hartlepool shirt' - Liam Noble talks commitment and exceeding expectations

Hartlepool United's players will die for the shirt - that's the view of stand-in skipper Liam Noble.
Liam Noble.Liam Noble.
Liam Noble.

Nobel has been Pools’ leader in every sense of the word this season.

He stepped up to the plate when club captain Andrew Davies got injured, he’s top of the goalscoring charts as well as providing the most assists in the side.

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With his help Pools have risen to fourth in the National League table, on a seven-game unbeaten spell and sit just three points off the fifth tier summit.

And the 27-year-old, again set to lead his team out this weekend against Eastleigh at the Super 6 Stadium, believes team spirit and commitment is what is driving them up the division.

“People are saying Salford will pump it because they’ve thrown money at it,” he said of the club’s top of the table rivals.

“Players there are on £4,000 a week. But what people don’t always look at is what happens on the park. That is all that matters.

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“And at this football club we have got lads in this dressing room who will die for the top. They will put bodies on the line and give everything for the cause.”

Geordie Noble admits he’s loving life at Pools and back in the north east.

When he arrived he did not quite expect things to go as well as they have so far - but long may it continue.

“If I am going to be honest, I did not expect us to be where we are,” said former Notts County and Sunderland man Noble.

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“I thought it was going to be a hard season. The gaffer told me we would give it a good go when I came. We have done that.

“Lets not forget we have done that while we have players like Dava (Andrew Davies) and Luke Williams sitting at home.

“The lads in the team at the moment have been magnificent to a man, so the gaffer will have a headache when those two come back.”

The suggestions from some of Pools’ critics is that this side are yet to really be tested at this level.

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Noble has seen the claims online and he’s not at all impressed.

“We were the first team to win at Havant in over a year - I didn’t realise it and I’m not sure other people did either,” he said.

“Those of trips are a long way. We have done a lot of travelling at the start of the season.

“People say we have played no one but we should have beaten Harrogate, who are top of the league. Ebbsfleet have spent a lot of money and they will be up there. Chesterfield are struggling at this level but they are a massive club for the league and Barrow as well - they have thrown money at it, they play good football.

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“It is a credit to the gaffer, Ged (McNamee) and all the lads how we have done so far.

“Everyone is in it together - Ross (Turnbull), Pos (Nathan Porritt) the kitman, Craig, Philly the physio. You see that when we scored the winner on Saturday, everyone was jumping all over. It means everything to us.

“It is our livelihood. They make it a great place for us to work. The coaches and people above that cannot do enough for us. They have given us everything.”