West Ham's win over Tottenham was a sign of their newfound resilience according to manager David Moyes.
The Hammers victory was their third win in eight days and all three came from the platform provided by the defence and a clean sheet in each match. Moyes has used eight men in goal and defence and has gone into all the matches without his first-choice right-back Vladimir Coufal.
Each victory came with a different style of play. At Everton West Ham dominated possession and controlled the game throughout. At home to Genk the Hammers took their time but eventually won the game with ease and the match versus Spurs was one of determination to grind out the result.
The one thing all three matches had in common was the threat West Ham posed through set-pieces with Moyes' team scoring four goals from dead-ball situations.
The manager was delighted with the set-piece delivery and goals but put the result down to the character of his team.
"I'm pleased with today's win because there was a resilience to the team," he said. "I think our football has been so good, some of our football this season has been so good. Today it was slightly different, but it was still good, and it was resilient, and there were still remnants of how you have to defend well if you don't always have the ball and what you need to be and we showed that today."
Moyes has put the newfound resilience down to a number of factors and believes the club are helping their players to evolve into strong characters capable of winning any match.
"I think we are growing the characters at the moment. I think if you look at where these boys were maybe a few years ago or two years ago," Moyes added. "I think they've all blossomed. They're all feeling important, they're all thinking that they can make a difference and I think that's within the club.
"I think the club West Ham is blossoming, now that comes from the team and it comes from inside the building."
After losing their two previous matches following Europa League fixtures leading his team to victory over rivals Spurs and into the top-four is a true sign that Moyes' team are once again a side to take seriously.
