Marko Arnautovic thanked the Claret and Blue Army for creating the ‘amazing' atmosphere that inspired West Ham United’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Southampton.
London Stadium was full of noise and colour as two first-half goals from Arnautovic and one from Joao Mario secured a convincing victory and three vital points.
Following on from the disappointment of the home defeat by Burnley last time out, the Austrian was delighted by the response of everyone associated with the Club – players, staff and supporters alike.
“That was 100 per cent the best response to what happened in the last game,” he said. “I think we had a couple of difficult weeks behind us and obviously we wanted to get good results and we didn't, but we said during the last three weeks that we have to stick together as a team, the whole Club, and we can come out of this because we know we have a lot of quality and I think we showed that today.
“We played brilliantly from the back and through the midfield and up front. I thought it was a fantastic performance.
“It was good. When we came out before the game, we felt the crowd was behind us and that was an amazing feeling. Then, when you start a game like that, they come behind you and that is very good. We kept going forward and trying to score some goals.”
When we came out before the game, we felt the crowd was behind us and that was an amazing feeling
Marko Arnautovic
Arnautovic’s two goals took him on to nine for the season. The first saw him stab home at the second attempt after Alex McCarthy had saved his initial header, but the second was pure class.
Cheikhou Kouyate, Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku combined to carry West Ham 50 yards up the pitch before the latter crossed for the No7 to volley home superbly at the far post.
“I'm happy with my goals. I always want to help the team and score my goals, but the most important thing is the team and as a team we worked fantastically hard and I'm very happy with these three points.”
West Ham are now up to 14th in the table with seven games left to play, starting with a trip across London to Chelsea next Sunday.
Arnautovic, for one, has unstinting confidence that the Hammers will steer clear of the bottom three come 13 May.
“We always believe we will survive. Everybody has to believe, not only us who have to play. There are seven or eight teams fighting against relegation, but we need to enjoy these three points and then, from Monday, we will focus on Chelsea.”