West Ham eased their relegation concerns with a solid 1-0 win at home to relegation rivals Swansea. The game was a real six-pointer, the win has put the Hammers 8 points clear of the Swans, all but putting to bed the idea of relegation this year.

Slaven Bilic was under intense pressure before the match following two months without a win that included 5 straight league losses going into the match. The Croatian was understandably delighted with the win, here’s his post match reaction:

“We are delighted. The pressure the players were under, forget me, they are the ones who perform in front of nearly 60,000, they gave everything and that’s why I’m very pleased. The crowd were behind us. We knew they were going to be from the start, but we kept them behind us for ninety minutes. Why? Because they recognised that we gave everything. They were so important.”

“We are the ones that put ourselves in this situation to be under this kind of pressure. To deservedly win, with a clean sheet, which was very important also because those clean sheets are giving you the proof that it was solid, a team performance.”

“It was a good day for us, especially when it’s well deserved against a team who are below us. It opens the gap even bigger. It’s a really good day.”

Bilic was keen to make a point of the Hammers not being safe just yet, asking his men not to ease off now that an 8 point gap had been opened up.

“There is still a big job to be done. We have opened the gap a bit more now. But we opened that gap two months ago when we won six out of nine. With five defeats we have closed that gap. I want those four points as soon as possible.”

It has been a disappointing season for West Ham, but ensuring their Premier League status was a must and the Croatian will be delighted with this vital victory.

With Palace, Swansea and Hull rallying in recent weeks their had been a growing sense of anxiety at the Olympic Stadium. The club even released the dreaded vote of confidence in Slaven Bilic, which normally means ‘improve or your out’. Had West Ham lost this game they could be welcoming a new manager this week, rather than sitting back safe in the knowledge that the job of survival is almost complete.

Next year the Hammers will be looking to push on and try and get back to the level of performance they were at last season, where they finished in a Europa League qualification spot. If they play with the same desire and organisation in defence next year, it will certainly help them on their way.