Nolan delighted by Newcastle reception
West Ham midfielder Kevin Nolan has thanked Newcastle fans for the "unbelievable" reception he received during his return to the club on Sunday.
• Blog: The reason you're a Hammer
Nolan, 30, was playing against the Magpies for the first time since leaving Tyneside in 2011 - after joining the club in January 2009 from Bolton Wanderers
"I can't thank the fans enough for the reception I got. It was absolutely unbelievable," he said.
"I had an absolutely fantastic time here. I love Newcastle and love everything about it - I made so many friends here along with my family. My boy is a Geordie, he was born here."
"It was a fantastic performance by us and I was delighted with the goal. I would just like to thank the supporters for everything, but especially the reception I got."
In what was a narrow win for the Hammers - it was a strike from Nolan in the 39th minute that eventually separated the two sides - with the former Bolton midfielder choosing not to celebrate, something he had decided long before the game, admitting it was an emotional moment.
"It was a perfect scenario for me to score the winner. It was quite emotional when I did score the goal; I had a little moment with Mark Noble afterwards," he revealed.
"I did say I was never going to celebrate scoring against Newcastle and I never will. If I move on from West Ham I would never do it against them either."
He also took time to praise current Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, revealing the pair still remain in contact - with Pardew providing some words of wisdom to Nolan prior to the Championship play-off final in May.
"I left Newcastle on great terms, Alan (Pardew) was absolutely fantastic to me. We still share the odd text here and there. Just before the play-off final he gave me some great words and support and I'll always have that with him," he said.
"He was fantastic with me when he was here. He was honest with me, I was honest with him and you can't really ask for any more than that. It was nice to hear that."
