West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola believes Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Aston Villa could be the turning point of their season.
The Hammers recorded their first home win of the season and in the process moved out of the relegation zone when Zavon Hines netted an injury-time winner and Zola says it could be the moment that give his side the confidence needed to start playing more consistent football.
"The team is playing better and this may well be the turning point,'' said Zola. "We demonstrated desire and belief and that's what we wanted. Everything else is there. It was a fantastic game to win tonight.
"We got the reward we wanted in the end. I believed and so did the players."
The fact that both Herita Ilunga and Carlton Cole were substituted in the first half because of injury made the win even more special but Zola was confident they were only slight problems and not major concerns.
"It was unbelievable,'' said Zola. "The way we started the game was perfect and then we lost Herita and Carlton and the atmosphere went a little bit flat among the players.
"But the second half was a different story and we got our reward. I don't think the injuries are serious but they are both hamstrings. We will assess them in the next couple of days.''