Mark Noble will reach another West Ham landmark and join an exclusive club when he faces Leicester on Sunday.

The 33-year-old midfielder is in line to make his 400th Premier League appearance for the Hammers, becoming only the eighth player to do so for one club.

He is in pretty good company, too. The previous seven are Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.

Hammers manager David Moyes said: "It is great, to be at one club and play 400 Premier League games takes some doing.

"When you look at how many years you have to be there and the consistency you have got to have, and injuries as well play a part in players' careers.

"It's a great achievement and he has reached an awful lot of milestones at West Ham because of his loyalty and his consistency as a player and we're enjoying him at the moment."

Noble might be underrated by some Premier League fans, having never played for England or one of the bigger clubs.

But Moyes added: "I don't think there is anybody, certainly not in our business, who would ever question how great a career Mark Noble has had.

"The loyalty, the number of games he has played, the years he has been at the club.

"I think he might not be mentioned in that group of players because they have won European Cups and Premier League titles, but you cannot question Mark Noble's loyalty, his consistency, and his longevity which is a big thing in football, especially at one club.

"I think he should be mentioned in and around those names but probably from a different perspective."

Noble, who made his Hammers debut as a 17-year-old against Southend in the League Cup in 2004, announced recently that next season will be his last as a player.

But Moyes hopes there will still be a role for West Ham's seventh-highest appearance maker at the club.

"I do see Mark becoming part of the staff in the future, but while he's still playing well and contributing on that side of it we want him in that area.

"But I have no doubt Mark's future career will be somewhere at West Ham, what that exactly is I don't know but I have no doubt he will be in and around the club."

Boss Moyes also Moyes admitted he will have to get "creative" in order to keep West Ham's Champions League dream alive.

Injuries have robbed Moyes of two of his key players, Declan Rice and Michail Antonio, for much of the run-in.

Barking and Dagenham Post: West Ham United's Michail Antonio receives treatment for an injury during the Premier League match at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton. Issue date: Monday April 5, 2021.West Ham United's Michail Antonio receives treatment for an injury during the Premier League match at the Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton. Issue date: Monday April 5, 2021. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Antonio's latest hamstring problem is a particular blow given Moyes declined the chance to sign a back-up striker in January.

But the Hammers boss has not been afraid to experiment this season, with varying degrees of success.

Left-back Aaron Cresswell has thrived as a third centre-half, right-back Ryan Fredericks has played in midfield, Mark Noble was tried as a number 10 and wingers Jarrod Bowen and Andriy Yarmolenko have led the attack.

Now Moyes must come up with a formula to beat Leicester, and move to within a point of the third-placed Foxes, at the London Stadium on Sunday.

"We were always aware that we could run into a situation like this," said Moyes.

"Up until now it has worked very well, we've been in a good position with it. We'll try and keep it going. We will have to look to see how it works.

"There's a lot of talk of playing with false nines nowadays. Manchester City, probably the team who can most afford to do it, chose to play with false nines and it's not done them too much damage.

"We need to be a bit creative. I had a situation at Everton where we didn't have any forwards and we messed around with Tim Cahill as a centre-forward for a while.

"It can happen during a season, you can lose your forwards or defenders but hopefully we'll have enough options to keep everybody guessing about how we're going to play."

The job Moyes has done in guiding West Ham, in danger of relegation last season, into Champions League territory has earned him the nickname 'The Moyesiah' from supporters.

When asked if he had heard about his new moniker, the 57-year-old Scot said: "I thought you were going to say ginger nut! It's certainly not ginger nut now, it's more grey.

"But if there are nicknames going around, I've had a lot of bad ones in my time, so I'm quite happy to take that if that's what I've been given."