Fonte confident Swansea victory can push Hammers’ finale

West Ham defender Jose Fonte has called on the Hammers to really kick on in the final weeks of the season and build on last Saturday’s crucial 1-0 win over Swansea.

The Hammers had been on a terrible run of form losing five in a row in the Premier League and had been sucked precariously close to the dreaded drop zone.

However, Cheikhou Kouyate’s stunning strike brought huge relief at the final whistle and with it a first clean sheet for Slaven Bilic’s men since mid-January.

Fonte, who arrived at the club from Southampton, is convinced the clean sheet and morale-boosting win can now propel the club forward as they look to end the campaign on a high.

Those three points took the Hammers into 14th place in the Premier League table – they were also the only team in the bottom half to win this weekend, meaning they are now eight points clear of Swansea in 18th.

(Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

“I am very pleased, above all for the fans and everyone involved with West Ham,” said the Portuguese defender. “The clean sheet was important, but the three points was more vital. It was a big game, and we are pleased with the result.

“There was a lot of pressure, everyone knows we have been through a bad patch, but we have worked hard.

“We are still working hard, there is a lot still to do, but this was a good day and we are grateful for the three points.

“Our aim is to win the next two matches, and then we can start to look at things a little differently.

“Not to relax, but to be more comfortable and to play in a way that we perhaps haven’t been able to while the pressure is really on.

“You can’t take your foot off the gas in this league. It’s a tough league, the best in the world, and if you are not ‘at it’ every single game, you are not going to win.

“So it’s about giving everything we have in every game, and if we do that we will pick up points.”