With three away wins, one draw, and still yet to lose on the road, one question remains; what has Bilic has done to make this possible?
Well, under a Sam Allardyce team, going 2-0 down at Sunderland, we would have crumbled and lost the game by three, four or perhaps even five. But under Bilic, the players think that they can win any match, even if they are trailing by two goals.
Winning is like a drug, but so is losing. Bilic has implemented a new system with new tactics away from home and has got everyone worrying about us, rather than the other way around.
This must be a huge boost for the players and everyone involved as it helps us play without fear, as shown in the away wins at Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City.
At the Emirates I am sure many people watching were thinking that it may have been a fluke, but not most Hammers. It looked to me like the players had been given a new boost of energy and everyone was working, whether it was Noble, who always gives his all, or new boy Payet, who has now shown time and time again that he can defend as well as attack.
I think our away success has also stemmed from the depth we now have in the squad. We have increased the competition for places in our team, which is in turn giving better individual performances, as seen from Kouyate and Noble in particular, with new boy Obiang joining and Reece Oxford being given a chance, too.
NOBLE: @Noble16Mark says the Hammers' away record is down to their hard work. More at http://t.co/HX2yVuOb7w #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/8wwd01dRDI
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 5, 2015
We now sit sixth in the table after Arsenal went above us on Sunday with their emphatic 3-0 win against Manchester United, but we remain unbeaten on the road, with 10 points from a possible 12.
If someone had said we would get 10 out of 12 points away from home in our opening four games I would have laughed, but what a job Slaven is doing and he deserves all the praise he is getting – hats off to him for the amount of energy and the work ethic he has brought to this club.
We have long been overdue a bit of passion from our manager and it’s really showing in our performances, especially away from home.
Although it has only been four away games, we are still yet to lose and up next are London rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. It won’t be an easy game, for sure, but we said that for visits to Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City and look what happened!
Football is a funny old game and I do not want us getting a reputation of only being able to perform against the ‘big boys’, so it is important we keep putting in the away performances, as well as improve our form at the Boleyn Ground.
Palace away will be a tricky game and one we will all anticipate to be an exciting contest, but we need to keep disciplined and show them some respect as they are a very good team.
Slaven Bilic has certainly impressed away from home this season, with the passion and organization he has brought to the team, and a trip to Palace is definitely a game we can look to pick up three points from!
The question still remains whether we can perform like this consistently, but so far so good – only time will tell!
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