Sam Allardyce is expecting to see a reaction from his players after Saturday's loss at Reading.
The West Ham United manager will be forced in to a couple of changes with Kevin Nolan and James Collins suspended after they picked up their fifth bookings at the Madejski Stadium. The good news is Ricardo Vaz Te and Jack Collison could make their first starts after long absences, with former France captain Alou Diarra another option in midfield.
1 January not only marks the start of the New Year, but the opening of the transfer window and Big Sam is keen to make a few quality additions to his squad, while hanging on to his best talent.
Do you think Tuesday's match with Norwich City gives us a chance to start the year off with a win?
SA: "It gives us the opportunity to get back to our better form. That's one of the problems, we've had some really good spells but then we've ended up losing two or three or on the trot. The last game we won was Chelsea at home and you'd think we'd go on from there but with the injuries and a couple of refereeing decisions we find ourselves on the back of a run where we haven't picked up enough points.
"West Brom away was a good point and we should have got a point at Reading and at least a point last week against Everton. We're looking down for the first time now and we're getting a little closer to that pressure pot, which is not where we want to be.
"It's a test for our mentality that we don't lose confidence in our own ability and don't lose confidence on what we know works. We need to create some chances to win some games of football. We must maintain our confidence in the level and standard we can hit and that will give us a chance to beat Norwich, which along with every other game, will be very difficult.
What do you make of Norwich?
SA: "They've been very good defensively, particularly away from home and make life very difficult for you to break them down. They play counter-attacking football very well. We're going to have to find a better quality of ball more often to give us a chance of beating them. I'm determined that we don't leave too many spaces for them to exploit on the counter attack.
"They had a little disruption with the change of manager. The brought in a new manager and it's taken a little while for him to get his feet under the table. Once the players get to know him and he shows he is a good manager they start playing as well as they are and produce results. It's no mean feat to go nine games unbeaten - it's a great, great run. But we'll do all we can to try and get the win we want."
How will you cope with the suspensions of Collins and Nolan?
SA: "The big problem I've got is that I've not got a selection problem. We'll be down to about 12 again after losing Kevin Nolan and James Collins. Vaz Te and Collison are not match fit yet and may need to step in from the start. We've got to try and start the New Year with a victory."
With the transfer window about to open and the players we have missing, is it a case of trying to do the business early if we can?
SA: "Well it's trying to get the right players first and that's the most difficult thing of any transfer window. Once you've found one you've then got to see whether he'll come or not. We've been looking at the short-team prospects of a player coming in rather than the long-term.
"The most important thing for me is to try and take advantage of the window, but also to make sure the players that have come back in the last few weeks, along with Andy Carroll and Momo Diame, all stay fit for a long period of time. We can ill-afford to have six, seen or eight injured at the same time like we've had the last few games."
