The manager was naturally upbeat on Friday as he welcomed the press for his weekly briefing at Chadwell Heath after the midweek win at Blackpool. It remains to be seen whether Matthew Upson and Jonathan Spector will recover in time for Sunday's match against Birmingham City while Manuel da Costa is pushing closer for a recall after an hour for the reserves. Most attention, though, was on midweek goal heroes Robbie Keane and Victor Obinna
Avram on Robbie Keane...
"Robbie Keane is a good player and a good character. He is good for our style of football, we are playing in a way that is good for him. He is the player we wanted.
"We saw him in the training and we saw it against Blackpool. It didn't feel like it was his first game. It feels like he has been part of the team for a long time.
"We need to see what his impact will be but I am sure it will be good. I was very pleased to see him play so well in his first game but all the signings have done well.
Avram on Victor Obinna after five goals in two matches...
"I don't like to speak too much about individuals. We need to wait to the end of the season but we know it is not easy to come to English football and have an impact immediately.
"But he did well for us and especially in the last two games. He is improving and his decision-making is better. It hasn't surprised me that he has a lot of quality. His progress is quicker than i thought.
Avram on what victory on Sunday would mean...
"We have done well this season inthe matches against the teams around us - Wigan, Wolves, Fulham, Everton and Blackpool. We have played too many games against Birmingham! We know it will be a tough game again.
"I don't believe in revenge. They won in the League Cup and we wish them all the success but for us our target is very clear. We want to get out of the relegation zone and this is a good opportunity.
"We are seeing development. We didn't start the season well but we have improved in the last weeks and we are taking points. I believe in going step by step. February will tell us a lot but I think five or six teams could be involved right to the last game. We need to get up the table.
Avram on Olympic Stadium...
"It is not a secret that we have a vision and a target, not only for the short term. Part of this is the new stadium. You see how many supporters came to the FA Cup game last week. Other than Arsenal, there were more at our stadium than at any other match.
Avram on striking options and rotation...
"We need to see who is fresh. We have more options on the bench. The bench is very important and you need strong substitutes to win games. We can play different tactics and it is good for us. You need to have many strikers. I don't think you need a rotation policy, you need to judge it on every game.
Avram on six wins and three draws in the last 12 games...
"We see the light now but we need to fight for this. The most important thing is the development. We might make mistakes but we try not to make them twice. I am sleeping good but not easy.
Avram on being denied a penalty in the league match at St Andrew's...
"We played very well and were winning 2-0. I will never understand why Lars Jacobsen didn't get a penalty at the end. The referee was five metres away and the linesman was seven metres away. I am sure the referee saw it. It could have changed the whole season against a team that was around us. It is a new game now and we have to focus on this only."