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When West Ham fans knew that former Sunderland boss, David Moyes was to take over at the London stadium, there was an air of restlessness at the club. This was, after all, a man that had just relegated Sunderland from The Premier League and made the cardinal sin of saying that the Black Cats were in a relegation dogfight two matches into the 16/17 season.
Moyes had taken a huge plummet in reputation following his chastening experience at Manchester United, where he failed to establish himself as a top-level manager that the club expected him to turn to.
Rejuvenation
In the last few weeks, there have been visible improvements in the results from the club as players such as Marko Arnautovic, Arthur Masuaku and Michael Antonio have repaid the faith their manager has shown in them.
West Ham are more difficult to break down, and this was more evident recently at Wembley, when they drew against Tottenham to steer a little bit clear of the relegation zone.
A win against Chelsea, draws against Spurs and Arsenal, as well as a narrow loss to Manchester City have shown a newfound resolve to the way to the team plays, and that has been down to the input of Moyes.
Much maligned at Old Trafford, he is quietly rebuilding his reputation from his Everton days, and it is just rewarding for the West Ham hierarchy, who appointed him to lead the team till the end of the season.
The Scotsman has endured a torrid few years in management starting from the humbling at United, to the failed overseas experiment at Real Sociedad as well as the recent Sunderland job.
There's still hope for West Ham
He has led the Hammers back to English football basics: defending, winning the second ball and going on lightning-quick counter-attacks. The team have picked up 8 points from the last 5 matches, and are steadily rising up the league table.
Club legend and fan favourite, Stuart Pearce is his assistant and had helped the club in a defensive manner. For long periods under former manager, Slaven Bilic, West Ham shipped goals most often than not.
Under Moyes, there is more balance in the defensive shape, as more often than not, especially against the big teams, he has employed a static back dive, with all men narrow and the 3 midfielders ahead them offering more defensive width.
It is not pleasing to the eye but a lot of West Ham fans would take boring football any day, anytime, as compared to being relegated to the less-alluring Championship. He might have only won thrice in 13 matches, but the signs are pointing that he could be a decent manager at the London Stadium dugout.
Summer signing Marko Arnautovic has looked the part in recent weeks as Moyes has found a way to allow him to express himself. The former Stoke forward arrived at the club in the summer for a hefty fee of around £24 million, but initially struggled to impress, getting a red card on his debut and suffering a loss of form in that time.
However, since Moyes came to the dugout, he has scored 5 goals in all competitions to allow the club breathe easy.
Moyes was once highly regarded when he was at Everton, but has gone under the radar in recent years, but at West Ham, he is looking the real deal again. He has the trust and belief of his players and that is all that matters.
