Avram Grant is confident that West Ham can turn their season around and feels their performances do not justify their current place in the Premier League (West Ham 11/8 to be relegated).
The Hammers are currently bottom of the Premier League, having taken just one point from their opening five games, with a 1-1 draw at Stoke last time out.
The East Enders began their season with a 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa before Bolton took all three points with a 3-1 victory at Upton Park.
A 3-0 defeat away to Manchester United followed while league-leading Chelsea then secured a 3-1 victory over the Irons.
Scott Parker scored in the 32nd minute to give West Ham the goal they needed to secure their first point of the season at the Britannia Stadium last weekend and they followed that up by beating Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light to continue their progress in the Carling Cup.
Despite the club’s current predicament, the manager remains upbeat about his side’s prospects this term and feels that the way they have played at times this season is not reflected in their current league position.
“I am very optimistic about the future of this club. We know what we are doing, we have a vision about this club and I am optimistic about it,” he told the East London Advertiser.
“If you have seen our games, this is not the place for us. but we need to take points. We have a long, long season. I think it will be very hard, but it will be possible. But it is very frustrating when we play so well but don’t take three points.”
Grant will welcome Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham to east London on Saturday, with Spurs currently in fifth place in the table after an up-and-down start to their campaign (West Ham 13/5 – 90 minutes).
The Israeli coach will take heart from the fact that Wigan took all three points from the north Londoners just four weeks ago and Arsenal’s young side beat them 4-1 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday night.
Both Victor Obinna and Frederic Piquionne opened their scoring accounts on Tuesday against the Black Cats and Grant was impressed by what he saw from one to 11 in the north east.
“They worked very hard, they moved very well and they played well together – but all the team behind them played well,” he added.
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