Papa Bouba Diop used his head - literally - to inspire West Ham United to a vital 1-0 npower Championship victory over Barnsley.
The Senegalese midfielder nodded in his first goal in claret and blue to cap a dominant display at the heart of the Hammers midfield. Diop's sixth-minute strike was his also his first goal in English football since he scored for Fulham against Blackburn exactly six years previously on 17 December 2005.
Speaking to whufc.com, Diop revealed that he had had a premonition that he would use his head to open his West Ham account against the Tykes.
"That was one of my best games for West Ham because we needed this victory and the three points because we lost two games," said the 33-year-old. "We had to win this game so we never thought about anything except the win - not playing good football but just getting three points.
"It's good now because we can look forward to going to play Birmingham.
"Last year I scored four headers in Greece and I said before the game to James Tomkins that I thought I was going to score another one! I was feeling very good and I got my goal. We scored early and we kept going and going and going and we got the three points. It didn't matter if we played good or bad as long as we got the three points. I'm happy."
With Sam Allardyce's squad being severely hit by injuries and suspensions, the experienced No21 knew he had to meet the challenge of an in-form Barnsley side head-on.
Thanks to countless headers and tackles won and at least three crucial interceptions or blocks inside his own penalty area, Diop helped the Hammers to rise to that challenge. With the busy festive season up next, the midfielder is ready for the tests to come at Birmingham City and Derby County.
"Saturday was hard because we only had eleven experienced players available. We kept going and we were talking before in the dressing room because we knew this game was very important. It was a game where we needed to start, score a goal and keep going.
"After this win, we can get everyone back and we have the chance to play good football and continue to win away and come back home and do well.
"I know after 70 years in England that we have no Christmas! It is harder and everyone knows this and I think we'll get some injured players back, which will be better."
While Diop and his fellow senior professionals showed their worth against the Tykes, it was a player young enough to be his son that caught the eye. At the age of 17, Dan Potts produced a mature display on his debut at left-back, hugely impressing his more-experienced colleague.
"We talked with him and said 'It's simple and it's only football. Football is football' and told him to play as if he was in training. We told him 'Play your game' and you saw he played and he had confidence. His first tackle and his first pass got him into the game and he continued to play because he had the confidence. It was good for him.
"He impresses me. He is aggressive and has the mentality. He never loses his head and is always concentrating on the play. He is not normally a left-back because he normally plays at centre-back, but on Saturday he played very good."