James Collins is hoping for an FA Cup win against Norwich City this weekend to provide a big lift before the return to Premiership action.
The Hammers defender is expecting a tough encounter at Carrow Road on Saturday but says that Alan Pardew's men are determined to take the positives from their performance against Chelsea and secure the first victory of 2006.
"We want to go to Norwich to put in a good performance and get back to winning ways if we can," said James. "If we can do that, the win will stand us in good stead for our next Premiership match, away to Aston Villa.
"If we can keep playing the football we know we can, keep the belief we have, then we'll be fine."
Despite the disappointing result against the Premiership champions on Monday, the Welsh international believes that much can be taken from the spirited display Hammers put in.
He said: "You are never pleased to lose of course, but we performed quite well against Chelsea. We tried to keep the ball, stop them from getting too much possession and then tried to carve out chances for ourselves.
"In the end, we perhaps couldn't do enough to stop them, but there's a lot of belief in this side. We gave it a good go and we can take a lot from that."
James also believes that the team can build on what they achieved in the first half of the season and put it to good use for the remainder of the campaign.
He said: "We have started the season fantastically and, to get through what has been a tough period for us, we must perhaps get back to where we started. Also, to take a look at what we're doing well and what has brought us success so far and things that might not be working for us.
"The team has great belief, though and, although we're perhaps disappointed by some of the goals we have let in lately, we know we're good enough to rectify these things.
"You have to learn quickly in the Premiership and we are aiming to be picking up the points again. Although doing well and staying in the Premiership is our aim, we are treating the cup game just as importantly, because a good result and performance will get us flying again."