Slaven Bilic says his team’s performances against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace last week show how strong the Hammers’ spirit is – even if a late blow at Selhurst Park meant two points slipped through their grasp.
The Hammers looked set for a second away win in four days as goals from Chicharito and Andre Ayew put them 2-0 up at Crystal Palace, but a second half fightback – with Wilfried Zaha’s leveller coming from the final kick of the game – left a sour taste in the visitors’ mouths.
However, with a home match against Liverpool to focus on now, Bilic is keen to dwell on the positive aspects of the team’s response to that defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion last time out in E20.
The manager said: "Joe Hart was excellent, he was great on Saturday, so we had a great goalkeeper, we had a 2-0 lead with the two strikers scoring very beautiful goals.
The team is giving its best, it has showed a lot of energy, spirit and togetherness
Slaven Bilic
“We had the momentum and everything. We lost it a bit when it went to 2-1, but we resisted and what I am saying is that everything was there for us to take all three points.
“The team is giving its best, it showed a lot of energy, spirit and togetherness after the game on Wednesday.
“We can talk about the negativity of the last seconds of the game, but that’s it.
“We can look at this as a positive week, but at this moment we are gutted because of the manner in which we conceded the second goal.
“Yes, we are disappointed and we unhappy with our management of the game, but I can’t be unhappy with the performance of the boys.
“As long as I see my team giving everything I’m happy.”