Sam Allardyce and his West Ham United squad returned to Chadwell Heath bright and early on Sunday morning in high spirits to begin preparations for Tuesday's game at Bristol City.
The Hammers were magnificent during Saturday's 6-0 home win against Brighton and Hove Albion, which moved them to within three points of second-placed Southampton. The Saints have an away game at Peterborough United on the same night and Big Sam is determined not to let the weekend's good work go to waste.
"We can't let complacency slip in," said the manager. "We've got to get up and go again on Tuesday night. There's no relaxing or enjoying Saturday's victory. We could a little bit on Saturday night in the comforts of our own homes but it's about recovering.
"It's towards the end of a long season and we can't afford any slip ups that might waste what we did on Saturday. If we slip up on Tuesday, we waste not only the points but the goal difference we've clawed back as well."
With just two full days of training between the two games, it is likely Big Sam will assess the freshness of individuals before deciding whether the stick with the same starting XI. The probability of seeing an identical teamsheet on Tuesday was increased by the manager's ability to withdraw the likes of Gary O'Neil, Guy Demel and Ricardo Vaz Te early once it was clear Saturday's game was safe.
"Yes that's always nice especially for those coming back from injury. Jack Collison got a run out and Guy Demel started the game. Guy did very well and will be an important player for us as the season reaches its climax.
"Vaz had done his job for the day and that's why he was taken off. It's good to allow the whole squad to get some game time as we have very important games coming up."
Ricardo Vaz Te rightly grabbed Sunday's headlines after a stunning hat-trick but was ably assisted in punishing the Brighton backline by Carlton Cole, Henri Lansbury and Kevin Nolan. The attacking nature of West Ham's play and the fact that the east London side have now scored 13 goals in three games has left their manager delighted.
"We've got to play like we did at Barnsley as that performance was good. The fact that we've started scoring goals at Upton Park is really pleasing me. We've got the players that can change the game. Looking at Friday's game between Southampton and Reading it was Southampton that played better but Reading won.
"Reading had three attempts at goal and won 3-1. We had 24 attempts on goal on Saturday and scored six and we need to be as clinical as them. We have been in the last three games and if we keep that up we just might win all three.
The spotlight was firmly on West Ham following Southampton's loss to Reading and Big Sam was impressed by how his players responded.
"Living under the pressure you can sometimes wonder which way your players will go. We were under big pressure against Brighton as we hadn't been winning at home and we needed the three points. We responded by producing the best performance and entertainment of the season at Upton Park. From start to finish it was different class."
