Lewie told Martin to 'pull it together' after keeper made his West Ham debut

The keeper, who made more than 300 appearances for MK Dons in two spells at the club, signed for West Ham in the summer, expecting to be the third choice.

But after injury and form called for him to start against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week, he made his top-flight bow at the age of 33.

"It was great," said Lewington. "A mate of mine is a journalist who was covering the game and he told me he was starting, so I sent him a message at 2:55 – I knew he wouldn't read it but I thought I'd tag it on his phone for when he comes in afterwards. I was buzzing for him.

"When they showed the final whistle, they showed (West Ham manager Manuel) Pellegrini and then all the West Ham players sprinting, and I thought 'where are they going?' and I saw Dave on the floor. I sent him another message then to pull himself together a bit!

"I'm so pleased for Dave, he's such a nice bloke, such a good character to have around. He went there not expecting that to be a possibility, to be a training goalkeeper. But he did well again on Wednesday night, so I'm delighted for him."