While the ex-skipper is proud of that day, he is equally proud of the season that followed.
“I think the season we got back into the Premier League is a stand-out one, because of how easy we made it look to stay in the division again,” Nolan continued. “When you go down in the manner that West Ham had been relegated the season before, and then to turn it around and get into the Premier League, it was amazing.
“I scored the first goal for us in the Premier League that year, against Aston Villa, and I think I also scored the last in the 4-2 win versus Reading when I scored a hat-trick. We had all our families and kids with us, and they walked out on the pitch with us, and I got that hat-trick, it was really nice.”
Nolan departed soon after the start of the 2015/16 season, after Allardyce had been replaced in the dugout by Slaven Bilić. He took up a player-manager role at Leyton Orient, had a spell in charge at Notts County, then returned to West Ham in 2020 and spent over four years as a first-team coach under manager David Moyes.
He is now manager of EFL League One club Northampton Town, having had impressive spells in charge at Leyton Orient and Notts County previously.