Following a devastating 4-0 defeat against fellow strugglers Everton at Goodison Park at the end of November, West Ham United found themselves in 18th position in the Premier League table, two points from safety and having only taken 10 points from their 14 top flight matches.
The vast majority of their supporters had a manager they didn’t particularly want, the players looked devoid of quality, energy and confidence, and the club looked to be in real danger of suffering relegation to the Championship.
Things soon turned around though and after a spirited performance against runaway leaders Manchester City, a 1-0 win against Chelsea at the London Stadium proved to be a catalyst for a turnaround in fortunes.
Fast forward to the current day and the Irons have taken 15 points from nine games since that dire day on Merseyside.
The latest of those points came in an impressive 4-1 win against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium last weekend, in a comprehensive victory that saw David Moyes’ men move up to 11th in the standings and five points above 18th-placed Stoke City.
The east London outfit were on a three-match unbeaten going into the clash against the Terriers, but a goalless draw against League One high-flyers Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup a week earlier was hardly inspiring.
That said, the Hammers look a completely different proposition in the top flight right now, and they are organised, full of commitment and look like they have plenty of goals in them – aside from in the 1-1 draw away at Tottenham Hotspur, perhaps.
Moyes picked up his 200th Premier League win –becoming only the fourth manager to achieve that feat – in Yorkshire as Mark Noble gave the visitors the lead in the 25th minute, although they went in at the break level as Joe Lolley netted five minutes before half-time.
Whatever the Scottish boss said during the interval certainly made an impact though, and 16 minutes after they kicked off they had a 4-1 lead after blitzing their opponents with three quick-fire goals – one from club-record buy Marko Arnautovic and two from Manuel Lanzini.
They are a fine example of two players that have stepped up since the arrival of Moyes – with Arnautovic especially becoming a talisman and leading from the front in an unfamiliar centre-forward role – and the east London outfit now face a run of seven top flight fixtures that could make or break their season.
Three of their next four games are at the London Stadium against Bournemouth – currently in 13th – Crystal Palace – currently in 12th – and Watford – currently in 10th – with a trip to 16th-placed Brighton between the latter two.
A tough-looking trip to Liverpool will then be followed up by another away match at Swansea City – who are currently bottom – before they host Burnley on March 10.
While Moyes will know that his in-form team can achieve survival by that date if they perform as they are right now, both he and the players can’t afford to let complacency creep in.
All of those teams that are due to play West Ham over the course of the next months will feel that a clash against the Irons is a winnable fixture for them too, and they could easily be cagey games that go either way – just like when the Irons beat fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion 2-1 last month thanks to a last-gasp Andy Carroll winner.
As we head towards the business end of the season the pressure will be building on each club to get the results they need in what already looks to be an open race to survive the drop, and there is certainly no room to be too confident.
West Ham are in a good place right now and their 4-1 win against Huddersfield was impressive, but there is still a long way to go and they must stay focused in the next few weeks as two or three bad results will send them spiralling back towards the dreaded relegation zone.
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