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Mark Noble, West Ham midfielder
Mark Noble celebrates scoring his second goal against Southampton.

Sam Allardyce wants his players to build on their 4-1 home win over Southampton and secure their first back-to-back victories in the Premier League this season with a win away to Wigan on Saturday.

Second half goals from Kevin Nolan, Modibo Maiga and a Mark Noble brace secured an emphatic win over fellow top-flight new boys Southampton at Upton Park on Saturday, lifting the Hammers in to seventh spot with 14 points.

And Allardyce thinks that result will give them confidence to come away from the DW Stadium with a much needed three points as his side approach a difficult run of fixtures in November and December.

He told the official site: “We focus on Wigan away now. Our last away game was against Queens Park Rangers, which was a terrific performance and a well-deserved victory.

“Can we now go and get our first back-to-back wins in the Premier League? When you’ve won a game, to go and try to win the next one is a massive ask and it makes a huge difference. That’s our aim. Wigan haven’t won at home this season so there might be a lack of confidence there, so if we can take advantage of that then we might do back-to-back wins.”

Allardyce also praised his side’s start to their first season back in the Premier League and admitted he is a little surprised at how his side have been able to make the step up from the Championship.

“This is a fantastic start considering we have just been promoted. We don’t get too carried away because the fixtures have been very kind to us. The teams that we have played in our first eight games were very difficult but there’s only Arsenal in there that might be in the top four that we’ve played,” he said.

“We’ve done the job better than I expected with 14 points from eight and we’re on two or three points more than I had hoped.”