Glenn Roeder has acknowledged that he is asking a lot of the likes of Michael, Joe Cole, and Jermain Defoe in the current predicament, but the young Geordie has no complaints and says: "It has been a test of character for a couple of months now; we have been at the bottom all season, and we need to come out of it pretty quick.
"I think it is a learning curve. As the gaffer said to us the other day, 'when you come through this, you are going to be a better person and a better player.'
"Hopefully I will come out better the other side, and age doesn't really come into it - if the gaffer puts you out there you have to be a man like the rest of them."
Michael says the two away trips coming up hold no special fears, and adds: "We have two very tough games away coming up, but we have played not bad away from home, even against Villa when we lost but played quite well.
"We have to look forward to it, and play like we did in the first half against Southampton, get at them, and hopefully we can get out on top."
The players, says Michael, are right behind the manager, and he insists: "We feel massively for Glenn. It is hard - what do you say?
"He can't do a lot more - he has put us out there on Monday night, I think we have played well again, and everyone is devastated, especially for the gaffer.
"The buck stops with him but everyone is sticking together through this - and three points is the only way to cheer him up, I think."
He finds it hard to understand how West Ham got nothing out of the game on Monday and says: "I thought we played well apart from the last 10 minutes when we tired out and maybe ran out of a bit of steam - but there were not many complaints from the gaffer about the lads, really."
No complaints from Michael, either, about the supporters, even though he recognises there were grumbles towards the end.
"It is hard, but, to be fair, the crowd were good up until the last 10 when we let ourselves down again.
"That is their point of view, and I suppose they have a right to say what they want.
"But we are just trying to concentrate on what is happening on the pitch and with the squad at the moment.
"In the first half against Southampton I felt we dominated and up to half way through the second half as well - to be bottom of the league and playing like that doesn't make sense.
"We had chances in the first and second halves but when you are at the bottom nothing goes for you, and that is what we are finding at the minute.
"The lads have given their all and some of the stuff we played was good in the first half, but it is tough where we are, everything seems to be against you, and we have to come through it."