West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has said that he feels "let down" by Kevin Nolan following the midfielder's sending-off in Wednesday's defeat at Fulham.
With the scores level at 1-1, captain Nolan was shown a straight red card just before half time at Craven Cottage for kicking Fernando Amorebieta in an off-the-ball incident.
Fulham went on to win the game 2-1 and Allardyce believes that Nolan's dismissal was a major "turning point".
"Our captain was irresponsible today - not just for today but for the future because he is suspended," Allardyce told BBC Sport. "He's let everyone down and himself. That was a turning point.
"Kevin is an experienced player and I'm surprised because he had a silly challenge at Liverpool. That's two in the space of the month now. It's not something I will allow to happen.
"We have to rally round now. We only have a few players to select from so losing Kevin and Mark Noble, who is injured, is a massive blow."
Nolan is likely to be banned for four matches, which would see him miss West Ham's games against Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Cardiff City and Newcastle United.
Robert Summerscales
