West Ham captain Mark Noble urges fans to stand by team despite Watford defeat: 'We're not performing on the pitch but we need them to stick by us'

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Mark Noble has urged West Ham's unhappy supporters to get behind their struggling team.

The away fans vented their anger towards the club's board and certain players during Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Watford.

It was a nightmare first game in charge for new manager David Moyes and left the Hammers marooned in the drop zone.

Mark Noble (right) urged West Ham's unhappy supporters to get behind their struggling team

David Moyes lost his first game as West Ham manager as his side were beaten 2-0 at Watford

Skipper Noble told West Ham TV: 'It's a very difficult situation for us.

'The fans show their emotions, and rightly so because they're not happy and they pay a lot of money to come and watch us.

'I know it's hard, I know they're frustrated, and we are too because we know we're better than what we're showing, but I urge them to stick by us and hopefully the good times will come back.

'As much as we're not performing on the pitch at the minute, we need them to stick by us.'

Will Hughes opened the scoring with his first Watford goal after 11 minutes and Richarlison doubled the lead midway through the second half.

But the Hornets were also indebted to a superb double save from goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes just before half-time.

The defeat at Vicarage Road left Noble and Co in the Premier League relegation zone

The away fans vented their anger towards the club's board and certain players on Sunday 

The Brazilian blocked Marko Arnautovic's header and then stretched out a leg to divert the rebound clear.

'We had good chances to equalise in the first half but in the end I thought Watford were the better team,' added Noble.

'They have been together with their manager for a while and we've had a couple away on international duty and we've trained with our young lads.

'It could have been a different if we'd finished our chances but that's the way it's going at the moment. There's a bit of a lack of belief in our players and I think we showed it.'

Will Hughes scored the opener after he pounced on a bobbling ball in West Ham's 18-yard box

Victory ended a run of three straight defeats for Watford, whose manager Marco Silva once again gave no assurances about his future having been linked with the Everton job.

Gomes played down his heroics and told the club website: 'That's what I'm here for, to make saves.

'That was just what we needed. We needed to avoid the mistakes we made in the last few games.'  

Richarlison scored Watford's second as Moyes got off to a bad start as West Ham manager