Gianfranco Zola had a smile on his face when asked about the visit of Manchester United on the back of an incredible home win against Burnley.
"Easy one next week?" was the question. "Yeah, nice and easy, don't remind me," was the manager's light-hearted response. However, the Hammers are on a high and will not overly fear the visit of the champions. With just one - harsh - defeat in six games and with the likes of Scott Parker and Guillermo Franco in fantastic form, morale is high.
It remains to be seen whether Carlton Cole will be involved with the striker limping off with a knee problem at half-time in the 5-3 defeat of Burnley on Saturday. He is being assessed while Matthew Upson (hamstring) and Valon Behrami (knee) are not expected to be back this weekend. There are a few positives from the treatment room, however.
Alessandro Diamanti could be in contention after his hip problem while James Tomkins, Mark Noble and Kieron Dyer should all feel the benefit of another week's training. The manager did not have to call on the recovering trio at the weekend when all that mattered was to win and move clear of the bottom three and in sight of mid-table.
Zola would have preferred a more routine afternoon, having moved five goals in front on a chilly Saturday afternoon at the Boleyn Ground and seemingly set for the biggest win of his time at the club. "Nobody was expecting them to score three goals. We were in complete control of the game and we weren't expecting it.
"Last week [against Hull] we've were 2-0 up and we saw the team coming back, so right now we are a little bit shaky. It was a good day for us and I don't want to spoil it with anything. I know that we have to defend better in certain circumstances."
When asked about management turning him grey ahead of time, he replied: "I think...the process is becoming quicker. If the final result is like this I can take the risk, but I would like it to be a little bit smoother, that would be ideal for me.
"It is very stressful but you learn to cope with this. You have to get to the point in which you handle the pressure and keep focus. I try to do normal things with my family. My family is the best way to relax. I spend time with them, that is the best way."
The manager preferred to see the positives when reflecting further on the professional aspect of his life. "You have to enjoy it. Come on, it's a football game and you need to enjoy that. You just need to make sure that the players realise that the game is never finished until the end.
"We have dropped so many points behind and we need to realise that we need to be switched on until the end because the line between losing and winning a game is so close. The mental side of that is so important.
"Right now I would rather win. I was an offensive player and obviously I like the team to play offensively but there are moments in the game where you have to be solid, and we know about that. As I said, let's celebrate and then during the week we work on the mistakes."
Zola finished by saying he was aware of the expectations placed on him as West Ham manager to play the game in the right manner - all the while getting the results in the process. By that token, the Burnley encounter ticked a lot of the boxes even if it was not to everyone's taste.
"I think we're doing football the way the fans like so that's what we try to do over here and it's good. As I said, it was an important day to win and we did so and I think we did it with style and that is the most important thing."