There is nothing like a victory to help football supporters quickly forget their complaints of the previous weeks.

West Ham fans are no different as a hard fought (and much needed) 1-0 win away at Crystal Palace has seen a little bit of positivity creep back into the minds of many who have been very critical of the club since the beginning of the season.

The win against Palace was not pretty, but the hard work put into securing this result was something that had been lacking throughout the campaign so far with this performance showing determination and discipline.

Although the game wasn’t easy on the eye, the goal from Manuel Lanzini displayed some excellent football.

It was a fine finish from a player who was previously dropped to the bench as Slaven Bilic attempted to be more defensive when it only served to weaken the teams’ potency going forward.

The only disappointment was the ridiculous sending off of the returning Aaron Cresswell who had a fine game.

The referee, Martin Atkinson, should have awarded the away side a penalty but instead booked Cresswell for diving and then just moments later booked him again for a foul on Wilfred Zaha which was barely even a foul.

Both incidents were proven to be incorrect and this is yet again a display of terrible referring decisions against West Ham, which in my opinion is more of a reason why they missed out on the top four last season than not having a goal scorer.

The win at Selhurst Park sets the Hammers up for a home game against bottom of the league Sunderland in what will be vital match to show that a corner has been turned and that the season has now begun.

It has been a difficult season so far for many reasons, and I don’t believe there is one specific thing that can be blamed for the poor start.

The new stadium may have been a factor but was it a factor away at Domzale, Astra, Chelsea, Manchester City or West Brom (not one victory among them)?

Not bolstering the squad in the summer is also a factor as there were no players brought into the club that were any better than West Ham had already.

But at the same time no key players were sold and the squad that finished 4 points off a Champions League place remained intact.

Every club goes through a tough patch and West Ham have gone through many of them which is why I have been surprised at the hysterical reaction coming from many of the fans and hope that some good results can sedate the over the top response to a loss.

The performance against a distinctly average Crystal Palace side is a good start to the West Ham renaissance but a start is all it is.

If the players think they can just turn up against Sunderland and win they will be in for another shock.