Lucy’s Last Word: Three wins on the bounce has West Ham feeling giddy after a dark January

A surprising turn of fortune

What is this weird sensation? Is it…no, it couldn’t be. Is it winning? Three wins on the bounce and we’re giddy. Still not overly optimistic, but enjoying the feeling of not losing for a while.

Our performances aren’t going to set the world alight, but they have significantly improved, and that’s a start. A couple of signings and a renewed desire from Summerville has made us look more lively – quicker to the ball, more decisive and just overly more…bothered!

The catalyst at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

This has happened before of course – we get so low that we couldn’t get much lower and all of a sudden the rocket is lit. The win at Spurs, as cliche as it is, could be the catalyst for a decent run of results and much-needed confidence. Even the rush of a last minute winner could give the players that desire for drama and an end to the drab “play-dead” attitude.

Then to convincingly beat Sunderland, who are making a good stab at this season, was really nice. Even my three-year-old got into it. There was, of course, the walk-in planned for the Sunderland game, as a form of fan protest. Half of me wonders if that first fifteen minutes took the pressure off the players.

Protest and the London Stadium atmosphere

Those in the stadium wanted to be there to support them and the atmosphere fed both ways. We know tension in the stands breeds more frustration on the pitch, we’ve been here before. The game started at a high tempo, ‘Bubbles’ was sung with gusto and it kept going from there. The only fault was that we didn’t keep a clean sheet, and I’m mostly putting that down to commentators’ curse.

The end of the January silly season

Now finally at the end of football’s “silly season”, also known as January, our team for the rest of the season looks a little more certain. I’m personally sad to see Paqueta and JWP go – both of their stories could have been so different. They have so much to offer in different forms. It’s true sometimes that a club just isn’t the right fit for players, it just seems more often that not West Ham is the wrong fit for many.

The recruitment and coaching conundrum

Recruitment is where the real issues lie. But we all know, football isn’t the same game as it was at the turn of the millennium. Managers aren’t allowed to manage. You’re now a head coach with a Board to answer to. They make the signings, you make it work. Or at least, try.