West Ham United manager Slaven Bilić has praised the efforts of the Hammers fans, as they secured their first win in seven league matches with Saturday's 1-0 win over Swansea City.
So important to the clash
The Hammers were in desperate need of three points with the visit of Paul Clement's men, with the side slipping to just five points above the relegation zone ahead of kick-off.
Their first win in seven was sealed early on Cheikhou Kouyaté's excellent effort just before the half-time break, and managed to hold off the Swans for an important victory.
“We are delighted," Bilić told whufc.com post-match. "The pressure the players were under – forget me."
"They are the ones who perform in front of nearly 60,000," he stated to the club's website. "They gave everything and that’s why I’m very pleased."
“The crowd were right behind us," the Croatian stressed. "We knew they were going to be from the start."
"But we kept them behind us for 90 minutes because they recognised everything we gave," Bilić added. "They were so important."
Surprised to see him on the scoresheet
Kouyaté has been one of the bright spots in what has been a poor season for the Hammers, and the midfielder got his first goal of the Premier League season in some style.
The Senegalese hit an excellent effort from 25 yards which gave goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański no chance and saw the London Stadium erupt in applause but Bilić admitted that his name on the scoresheet was unexpected.
“It was a great goal,” he said. “We talk about an individual goal but we all wanted it when we got it in that dangerous area."
“We started the game well and had a couple of opportunities," Bilić concluded. "But then that goal was a little unexpected from Cheikhou!"