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.
