Kevin Nolan reveals he tried to persuade Ravel Morrison to stay focused and succeed at West Ham but he failed to turn up for training

Kevin Nolan has revealed how he tried to persuade Ravel Morrison to be a success at West Ham and fulfil his vast potential.

Morrison, who was previously at Manchester United, was seen as a player with a very bright future and he made a major impact for West Ham in pre-season in 2013 as he impressed against Oxford.

Nolan revealed that he and Mark Noble told Morrison that he could have a key part to play for West Ham that season but he didn't listen and ended up not turning up for training the next day.

Morrison scored a memorable goal for West Ham against Tottenham early in the 2013-14 campaign but Nolan stated that he could have done so much more. 

Speaking on talkSPORT, Nolan said: 'In pre-season that year, and this just sums him up, we played at Oxford United and it was me, him and Nobes [Mark Noble] in the middle, and he was unbelievable.

'It was only Oxford, don't get me wrong, because we were Premier League and they were League One, that's no thing to Oxford. But he was just, I mean, head and shoulders above everyone.

'We got on the bus after the game and we were like, 'Rav, that was incredible mate, never seen anything like it for a long, long time. Mate, you've got to get your head down, this is going to be your year.'

'He was like, 'Yeah yeah yeah, no problem. I loved it, it's been great.' [We said], 'This could be our midfield three now for this season, you doing what you do, Nobes and me being around you.' He was just, 'Yeah yeah yeah.'

'We thought we had him, me and Nobes, all the time he was texting his mate, 'Yeah pick me up we're going back to Manchester.' He didn't turn in the next day.'

Morrison had loan spells at QPR and Cardiff before leaving West Ham permanently for Lazio in 2015. 

He is currently at DC United having previously played for Sheffield United, ADO Den Haag and Derby. 

Asked if Morrison would now regret living up to his potential, Nolan said: 'I think he does now. I think if you asked the man he'd put his hand on his heart and he is a truthful lad, I think he would.

'I loved working with him, I thought all he done was just sort of wind me up because of the talent he had, and I think that's what in the end, where Sir Alex [Ferguson] sort of got rid of him.

'I think Rio [Ferdinand] spoke really highly of him, all those players at that time, [Wayne] Rooney, everyone. But he just couldn't put all the things that he had on the field, he couldn't sort it out off the field.

'I think he was just a maverick, that's probably the best word to describe him, sort of went by his own rules and no one could tell him otherwise. You'd think at some point, 'Yeah we've cracked it, we've got him.''