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What's the secret behind West Ham's success this season?

If it wasn't for Leicester City and Tottenham's brilliant campaigns in the Premier League this se...



What's the secret behind W...
Soccer

What's the secret behind West Ham's success this season?

If it wasn't for Leicester City and Tottenham's brilliant campaigns in the Premier League this seaosn, West Ham would be getting far more attention than they have already been getting.

Fifth in the league, well in the mix for Champions League qualification and a replay away from an FA Cup semi-final, this has been an excellent first year for manager Slaven Bilic and summer signing Dimitri Payet.

The Guardian's Jason Steinberg, who is also a Hammers fan, joined Off The Ball tonight to talk about how West Ham have achieved such success in 2015-16 which will be their final one at the Boleyn Ground before they make the move to the Olympic Stadium.

"I think there has been a massive shift in mentality, especially when they play the big teams," he explained, pointing the greater ambition against the bigger clubs in comparison to when Sam Allardyce was in charge.

"They're just attacking in games. They are conceding more goals probably than they were under Allardyce but you always just feel like they're going to score and I think that's a lot to do with Bilic realising that some of these teams aren't that good, you can attack them - okay you might concede - but I think he's tapped into what West Ham fans wants."

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic (right) celebrates after Dimitri Payet scores their first goal of the game in the FA Cup draw against Manchester United. Picture by: Tony O'Brien / EMPICS Sport

But there is a slight worry how the move to the London Olympic Stadium will have on the atmosphere, notwithstanding the financial boost it would provide, and Steinberg highlighted the impact the Upton Park effect has had. 

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