The Hammers made it back-to-back victories for the first time since April and provided the perfect confidence boost ahead of the big London derby against Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
Bilic felt the Hammers start to the game was the best football they have produced in a number of months and was pleased to see them rewarded for all their hard work with another crucial victory.
Bilic said: “It was very dramatic and an important game for both teams.
“It was not a goal from the training sessions as I thought Winston would be inside the box. It was a crucial decision from Payet and Noble to get the ball outside the box and find Reidy in a good position.
“It was a great decision from the player. You have to be a bit lucky when you score that kind of a goal and it was crucial for us.
“I thought the first half hour was the best football we have played for a long time. We were passing the ball well and were winning the second balls. We were creating chances and getting the ball to Dimi and Manu.
“We had enough chances to be two up but we couldn't score a goal. They had five good minutes before half-time but in the second half it was an open game.
“The last 15 minutes we pushed more and changed the system by adding another striker in there.
“We managed to score in the very last minute and no-body can say after the game that we didn't deserve to win it.”
Bilic had special praise for youngster Edimilson Fernandes who was making his Premier League debut and says he was determined to keep faith with the same system which saw them produce such an impressive display against Crystal Palace in their last game and the move paid off once again.
Bilic added: “We never lost our energy in training. No amount of training or motivation can bring the confidence back like winning games and we have now managed to keep two clean sheets.
“We now want to build on it of course. We are looking much better now offensively and defensively.
“That is why we opted to keep the same shape because the players have good memories of the shape and even though we were missing Cresswell, we put young Fernandes in that position and he was very good throughout the whole game.”