It may have raised some eyebrows yesterday when I said there is more to come from West Ham, but I genuinely believe that because we have good players who are getting the balance right.

The plan is to put the players who are good on the ball in areas of the pitch where they can play together, but they must work hard when they do not have the ball. It is not very easy but that is what the guys are doing now.

We have a lot of skill. Mauro Zarate, Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini are all better on the ball than without it. They are magicians who can do wonders with the ball and if you put them all in your team, you might suffer a little bit defensively but the great thing is they are doing the dirty work as well. When the players who are good on the ball are taking that responsibility, then you have a great chance.

We have a lot we can improve on, too. At the end of the day, we are a team with many players who have only been together for a couple of months. They still need time to get to know each other and if you add to that, we were without Andy Carroll for a long time and one of our best players, Enner Valencia, got injured in the summer. We are also expecting Alex Song back soon as well. That is the amount of quality we have now.

There is no secret to our success. The core group we had here before I arrived are really good and the club did some really good work in the transfer window.

We have got where we are through hard work. We showed a lot of energy at the start to get some big results and those wins are the best drug you can take. They give you confidence and help you to repeat that success again and again.

I’m not going to go into tactical details but, of course, it is true you have more space to attack in some games, while some teams use the space that you leave in behind because you have more of the ball. You have to be very versatile in every Premier League game. In some parts of the game you are dominating and in others it is the opponent. That is the beauty of this League.

You have to defend well and get players behind the ball in certain moments but in others you have to show you can be creative and attack with numbers. It is about a balance and we train hard to achieve that.

That is why the Crystal Palace game is still the proudest moment for me. We may have beaten Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal but against Palace we showed both sides and were excellent in transition.

Player Ratings: West Ham vs Chelsea 22 show all Player Ratings: West Ham vs Chelsea 1/22 Adrian: 7 Made a one-handed acrobatic save to deny Fabregas’ corner early on before superbly saving Willian’s free-kick later. He then combined with Lanzini to clear Zouma’s header off the line but couldn’t do much to keep out Cahill’s powerful equaliser. Getty 2/22 Carl Jenkinson: 6 Performed well against the threat of Hazard, but was out-muscled by Zouma to put him off clearing the ball in the build-up to Cahill’s goal. Getty 3/22 James Tomkins: 7 Formed a solid partnership with Collins to keep Costa quiet all game. Getty 4/22 James Collins: 7 Made several key clearances to deal with Chelsea’s attacks well. Getty 5/22 Aaron Cresswell: 7 Performed well to keep a grip on Willian in the game, although there were moments he was outrun by the Brazilian. However, he played the key ball into the area that Carroll secured the win from and he will see this as a fine performance. Getty 6/22 Mark Noble: 6 Performed well to marshal his side and deal with danger in the middle of the park. Getty 7/22 Cheikhou Kouyate: 7 Worked well in midfield to contain Fabregas in the first half, but allowed Cahill to run free before he equalised. Still, it didn’t matter too much with Carroll later scoring. Drew the first foul from Matic that resulted in the Chelsea midfielder getting booked. Getty 8/22 Mauro Zarate: 8 Scored West Ham’s opener in the 15th minute with his low drive after finding himself completely unmarked. Had less of an impact going forwards than Lanzini and Payet, but stepped up when needed.



Andy Carroll: 8



Was brought on for goalscorer Zarate and the striker out-muscled Azpilicueta to make it 2-1. An inspired substitution. Getty 9/22 Dimitri Payet: 7 The winger won and took the corner that Zarate scored from while creating several other chances for the home side. His pace caused Zouma problems especially as he regularly linked up with Lanzini to create attacks. Getty 10/22 Manuel Lanzini: 7 Despite often playing through the middle, the winger kept dropping to the flanks to cause Chelsea all sorts of problems. But he also carried out his defensive duties well – bullying Fabregas off the ball in one incident before clearing the ball out of Costa’s path in another and then clearing Zouma’s header off the line. Should have made it 2-0 but chipped the ball over the bar with time and space. Getty 11/22 Diafra Sakho: 5 Endured a very quiet game and did not make an impact up front for the home side in terms of goal-scoring chances but worked hard nevertheless. Getty 12/22 Asmir Begovic: 6 Did well when forced into action but, again, was let down by his defence although he could have done better for Carroll's winner. Getty 13/22 Kurt Zouma: 6 The defender’s header came to within an inch of giving Chelsea the equaliser, but goal-line technology ruled it just on the line. The Frenchman played a part in the Blues’ equaliser, applying the pressure to put Jenkinson off clearing Willian’s corner, which eventually fell to Cahill. However, he did have a few moments where he appeared unsure in his new position of right-back. Getty 14/22 Gary Cahill: 7 Got Chelsea back into the game when he equalised with a fine shot in the 56th minute – his first Premier League goal in 350 days – but struggled at times defensively. Getty 15/22 John Terry: 4 Initially defended well, but was to blame for failing to adequately clear the ball in the build-up to Carroll’s match-winning goal. Getty 16/22 Cesar Azpilicueta: 4 Left Zarate complete unmarked for the opener before being shown a yellow for a foul on Lanzini. In contrast to recent weeks, the defender looked more vulnerable at left-back against the Hammers and was later out-muscled by Carroll for the winner. Getty 17/22 Ramires: 5 Struggled to contain the pace and trickery of Lanzini, Payet and Zarate, who kept interchanging and running riot in midfield. Was brought off for Falcao in the dying stages of the game. 18/22 Nemanja Matic: 4 After failing to control Lanzini in the middle of the park, the midfielder needlessly got himself sent off in the 44th minute after pulling back Kouyate before fouling Sakho. Getty 19/22 Willian: 6 Worked hard, as usual, for the Blues on the right flank but did not create any clear-cut chances. Was one of Chelsea’s better players on the day, though. 20/22 Cesc Fabregas: 5 His chipped ball created a good chance for Costa early on, but the midfielder once again failed to impress creatively. Saw his goal ruled out for offside and was then hauled off at half-time for Mikel. Getty 21/22 Eden Hazard: 5 Was hardly involved in Chelsea’s attacking play in the first period as Jenkinson shackled him well and he then didn’t do enough with his one good chance in the second period. 22/22 Diego Costa: 5 Should have done better with the two shots he had in the first half but fired one high and the other wide while it was the striker's foot that deflected the ball into the path of Zarate in the build-up to West Ham’s opener. Was kept quiet by Tomkins and Collins all afternoon and spent the game largely as a bystander. Getty 1/22 Adrian: 7 Made a one-handed acrobatic save to deny Fabregas’ corner early on before superbly saving Willian’s free-kick later. He then combined with Lanzini to clear Zouma’s header off the line but couldn’t do much to keep out Cahill’s powerful equaliser. Getty 2/22 Carl Jenkinson: 6 Performed well against the threat of Hazard, but was out-muscled by Zouma to put him off clearing the ball in the build-up to Cahill’s goal. Getty 3/22 James Tomkins: 7 Formed a solid partnership with Collins to keep Costa quiet all game. Getty 4/22 James Collins: 7 Made several key clearances to deal with Chelsea’s attacks well. Getty 5/22 Aaron Cresswell: 7 Performed well to keep a grip on Willian in the game, although there were moments he was outrun by the Brazilian. However, he played the key ball into the area that Carroll secured the win from and he will see this as a fine performance. Getty 6/22 Mark Noble: 6 Performed well to marshal his side and deal with danger in the middle of the park. Getty 7/22 Cheikhou Kouyate: 7 Worked well in midfield to contain Fabregas in the first half, but allowed Cahill to run free before he equalised. Still, it didn’t matter too much with Carroll later scoring. Drew the first foul from Matic that resulted in the Chelsea midfielder getting booked. Getty 8/22 Mauro Zarate: 8 Scored West Ham’s opener in the 15th minute with his low drive after finding himself completely unmarked. Had less of an impact going forwards than Lanzini and Payet, but stepped up when needed.



Andy Carroll: 8



Was brought on for goalscorer Zarate and the striker out-muscled Azpilicueta to make it 2-1. An inspired substitution. Getty 9/22 Dimitri Payet: 7 The winger won and took the corner that Zarate scored from while creating several other chances for the home side. His pace caused Zouma problems especially as he regularly linked up with Lanzini to create attacks. Getty 10/22 Manuel Lanzini: 7 Despite often playing through the middle, the winger kept dropping to the flanks to cause Chelsea all sorts of problems. But he also carried out his defensive duties well – bullying Fabregas off the ball in one incident before clearing the ball out of Costa’s path in another and then clearing Zouma’s header off the line. Should have made it 2-0 but chipped the ball over the bar with time and space. Getty 11/22 Diafra Sakho: 5 Endured a very quiet game and did not make an impact up front for the home side in terms of goal-scoring chances but worked hard nevertheless. Getty 12/22 Asmir Begovic: 6 Did well when forced into action but, again, was let down by his defence although he could have done better for Carroll's winner. Getty 13/22 Kurt Zouma: 6 The defender’s header came to within an inch of giving Chelsea the equaliser, but goal-line technology ruled it just on the line. The Frenchman played a part in the Blues’ equaliser, applying the pressure to put Jenkinson off clearing Willian’s corner, which eventually fell to Cahill. However, he did have a few moments where he appeared unsure in his new position of right-back. Getty 14/22 Gary Cahill: 7 Got Chelsea back into the game when he equalised with a fine shot in the 56th minute – his first Premier League goal in 350 days – but struggled at times defensively. Getty 15/22 John Terry: 4 Initially defended well, but was to blame for failing to adequately clear the ball in the build-up to Carroll’s match-winning goal. Getty 16/22 Cesar Azpilicueta: 4 Left Zarate complete unmarked for the opener before being shown a yellow for a foul on Lanzini. In contrast to recent weeks, the defender looked more vulnerable at left-back against the Hammers and was later out-muscled by Carroll for the winner. Getty 17/22 Ramires: 5 Struggled to contain the pace and trickery of Lanzini, Payet and Zarate, who kept interchanging and running riot in midfield. Was brought off for Falcao in the dying stages of the game. 18/22 Nemanja Matic: 4 After failing to control Lanzini in the middle of the park, the midfielder needlessly got himself sent off in the 44th minute after pulling back Kouyate before fouling Sakho. Getty 19/22 Willian: 6 Worked hard, as usual, for the Blues on the right flank but did not create any clear-cut chances. Was one of Chelsea’s better players on the day, though. 20/22 Cesc Fabregas: 5 His chipped ball created a good chance for Costa early on, but the midfielder once again failed to impress creatively. Saw his goal ruled out for offside and was then hauled off at half-time for Mikel. Getty 21/22 Eden Hazard: 5 Was hardly involved in Chelsea’s attacking play in the first period as Jenkinson shackled him well and he then didn’t do enough with his one good chance in the second period. 22/22 Diego Costa: 5 Should have done better with the two shots he had in the first half but fired one high and the other wide while it was the striker's foot that deflected the ball into the path of Zarate in the build-up to West Ham’s opener. Was kept quiet by Tomkins and Collins all afternoon and spent the game largely as a bystander. Getty

We are not Real Madrid or Barcelona, so in every game you cannot dominate all the time. But apart from the second half against City, I cannot say that we are riding our luck. We deserve to be where we are. Some of the games could have gone the other way but so could those against Leicester and Bournemouth that we lost.

Things are going well but our first aim is to be safe. I am a very optimistic person and it does not mean I believe less in my team to look at things that way. I believe massively in them but apart from a few clubs, everyone is thinking ‘okay, step one is let’s be safe’ because that doesn’t change your overall plan. It doesn’t mean you have to slow down or do something you wouldn’t do if you weren’t first looking to avoid relegation. It is a route to success. You have to be safe first and then go from there.

I also know what happened last year when West Ham were in the top four at Christmas and then fell away.

They had a few injuries and the squad was very tiny last year. I watched a lot of the games and in the first half of the season West Ham were a little bit lucky in some of the games, in the second half we were more unlucky. But maybe the players went into a safe zone and that can be very dangerous. That can happen to you in any job — it is nice to be relaxed and comfortable but you can get into a comfort zone where you drop your level.

Once you lose that five per cent of overdrive, it can have a major impact. You can’t see it straight away and once it is gone, it is gone. It wasn’t one thing that happened last year because if it was Sam Allardyce would have changed it because he is a great manager.

We have to be in the comfort zone points-wise but never comfortable with where we are. If you do not have enough points, you are in the panic zone and that is bad for the team’s confidence. So we must be safe first to avoid that but always be on your toes. It is easy to say and harder to implement. But that will be the challenge for us this season.

I hope Andy is called up, he can do things no other English striker can

Roy Hodgson visited us this week and I hope more of our English players get recognition with the national team.

If we continue to play as we are, I am expecting more of the English ones will get a chance because people will talk about them a lot more.

I was the manager of my country for six years, so I don’t want to force players on national coaches. They are picking the squad and, especially at international level, the best players alone do not always make the best team.

But all of our English players are doing well enough to hope they get a call-up. Andy Carroll’s quality has never been in doubt. Some people who look at football in a shallow way see him as a one-sided player who just wants the ball whipped into the box. He can hold the ball up and is good at creating space for other players to score. He is good on the ball, too, so his versatility is not always celebrated.

Roy has picked him before and knows what he will get with Andy. Some things Andy can give you, I don’t know which other English striker has them. He is almost impossible to mark in the box but he can also link up play. He thinks about the game a lot.

In terms of his physicality, he reminds me a lot of Duncan Ferguson. I never played against him but I used to be a centre-back and you would look at him and think all you could do was limit his service. But when a good ball comes into him, it is more up to him than down to you. If he gets it right, you are powerless. Look at John Terry and Gary Cahill last weekend. They are among the best in the air but the cross was good and when Andy is on the end of it, there is nothing you can do. England could use that.

Watford are a threat, thanks to Quique

Quique Sanchez Flores is a great coach I admire a lot. I remember him as a player and he was a very good right-back.

Watford are a dangerous team we cannot underestimate but I am not surprised Quique is doing well — he has done it before at Valencia, Benfica and Atletico Madrid.

The team he won the Europa League with in 2010 were very impressive. Watford are very organised, play with a lot of energy and have made themselves very hard to beat. They have been defensive but people would be wrong to think they cannot score.

There will periods of the game where they will push us back and we need another complete performance like we had against Palace. If we can match that then we can beat Watford, although we know it is going to be very difficult.