West Ham’s win over struggling Swansea on Saturday afternoon, was their first in over two months, having last won away at Southampton early in February.
Since that win at St. Mary’s there have been unlucky draws, humbling defeats and plenty of talk around the future of manager Slaven Bilic.
The win over Paul Clement’s side should now give Bilic a platform to move on and put the troubles of the last few weeks behind him.
Whilst there is little but dignity to play for in terms of this season, the remaining six games could do a lot for the club going into next season, where a similar performance to this year will be far from acceptable.
The Hammers are faced with a tough run-in over the coming months with clashes against sides battling relegation as well as the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham lying in wait.
The east Londoners put in a good show against the Swans and should really have won by more than just the one, however, it’s three points at home – something which hadn’t been achieved since Andy Carroll scored his stunning bicycle kick against Crystal Palace back in January.
Putting things into perspective then, although it’s just a 1-0 win at home against a side battling relegation, it’s a big moral booster for Bilic’s side. Now that block of not having picked up a win at home for months is out of the way, there is no room to let up and go on holiday before the end of the season.
Bilic needs to use these last games to remind his players of what is expected at West Ham, and the levels they need to reach to get into his side come next season.
Of course, there is little to gain in terms of the Premier League and the win on Saturday means that fears of being dragged into the relegation scrap at the last minute have been allayed.
Should Bilic’s players take their run-in seriously and go out as if there is still everything to play for, the Croatian can approach the transfer market and pre-season with a far clearer idea of what is needed to make the next season a successful one, taking West Ham to the level which befits a club with a home such as the London Stadium.
Saturday’s win may have seemed a formality, but it could mean so much more than three points for Slaven Bilic and his side over the coming months.