The run of bad results finally came to an end as West Ham United picked up a painful victory over struggling Sunderland on Saturday.

This was a game chosen for television, which struck me as odd even before the kick-off as matches between the two are rarely exciting. Yet despite that, at least one of the fixtures between the Hammers and the Black Cats is televised every season.

It was a match between two teams who were both well short of form and confidence. The West Ham display was unrecognizable from that of the early months of the campaign and but for a late winner from Diafra Sakho, the conversation amongst Hammers fans would have been very different post final whistle.

When in a poor run of form you soon find yourself in desperate need of a victory of any sort in order to stop the rot.

So it is difficult to criticise the performance as extensively as we might normally have done in the hope the three points can instill some much-needed belief into the side and see the team kick on for the last few games of the season.

And there are enough games to still finish the season well, with seven of the final eight games being the kind of fixtures you would have looked to at the start of the season and been optimistic of garnering points from.

Newly appointed Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat had a little dig by claiming that West Ham played a lot of "long balls" but I would not be surprised if this was an acknowledgment of the same complaint made by compatriot Louis van Gaal when his Manchester United side scraped a late point at Upton Park last month.

Sunderland are a side who removed former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio from the managerial position last season and despite their poor start to that campaign it was complaints from senior players about his hardline approach which reportedly got him the sack.

Fast forward roughly 18 months and it is those same senior players who have let down Gus Poyet, culminating in Poyet get the chop. Maybe Di Canio wasn't as "crazy" as everyone made him out to be at the time?

With the international break now upon us, West Ham do not play again until Saturday, April 4 and a trip to Leicester City.

By this time a few of those players currently sidelined should return to action and hopefully we will see the club push on over the next couple of months.

Whilst a top-seven spot is now slightly out of reach, an eighth-place finish would still mark a significant improvement on last season's dismal performance.

The plan for next season will of course be dependant on whether Sam Allardyce is given a new contract or not.

Whatever the outcome of that issue we have to hope money will be available to enhance the depth and continue to improve on the quality of players in the squad.

If West Ham do have a good run-in and manage to secure an eighth-placed finish it is going to be very difficult to argue against offering Allardyce another contract. There is such a fine line between success and failure and this end of season run will likely prove no different.