Andre Ayew has struggled to make an impact since joining West Ham United, but the striker says he is desperate to impress manager Slaven Bilic after he secured his side a point in a 1-1 draw at Watford.

Ayew, a £20m signing from Swansea City last summer, tapped in after Michail Antonio had crashed a shot off both posts at Vicarage Road.

The Ghana international, who has just returned from the Africa Cup of Nations, made a major impact in his first Premier League season last year, scoring 12 league goals and convincing Bilic to part with a huge sum of cash.

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Injuries and a loss of form have hindered Ayew, but now the Hammers are again without Andy Carroll due to injury – he believes it is his time to make a point.

“I will continue to work hard and hopefully I can get some more goals,” he said.

“I think in the first half they got control of the ball, they put us under pressure and we couldn’t really play our game. In the second half we managed to come out and play how we know how to play.

“It’s a fair result – they had the first half and we had the second. It was a tough game, this is the Premier League. We just need to keep working hard and hopefully we’ll get the results we want.

“For the goal the ball came to me off both posts, and sometimes that’s the game and that’s how it comes.

“Sometimes it doesn’t [drop for you], but that’s football. For me it was important to score, it’s my first game back from the Africa Cup of Nations.”

Tyrone Mings is still a rookie when it comes to the Premier League and he admits every single game is a learning experience.

Bournemouth signed Mings in the summer of 2015 for £8million from Ipswich Town but he suffered a horrific knee injury barely ten minutes into his top-flight debut, which ruled him out for 12 months.

The defender then faced a longer road back to full match fitness but now has four Premier League starts under his belt – the latest of which came against West Brom on Saturday.

The Cherries lost that clash 2-1 to continue a dismal run of form that has them suddenly looking warily over their shoulders towards the relegation zone.

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But on a personal level, the 23-year-old is adamant he is getting better with each passing minute as he adapts to life at the highest level.

“I’m learning every game,” said Mings. “I do a lot of work with the manager analysing the performances.

“Every game’s been different; from Manchester City last time to a physical game against West Brom. I’m trying to take something from every game.

“When you’re in a run of results like this it’s very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but certainly we can take the positives.

“We matched them and were better than them for 90-95% of the game, in between both boxes anyway.

“You look at the two goals and they were such poor goals to give away, especially after us going 1-0 up. We needed to get through to half-time, settle into the game and go again.

“They’re very fine margins but at least we can take heart that we weren’t outplayed and gave a good account of ourselves.”

Burnley defender Michael Keane may wind up his team-mates by joining in with the strikers’ training sessions but he claims he has been vindicated after grabbing an equaliser on Saturday.

The centre-back conceded a 72^nd-minute penalty for handball against Hull City, and when Tom Huddlestone converted from 12 yards it seemed as if Burnley were destined for defeat.

Yet just four minutes later, Keane went up the other end to secure a vital 1-1 draw when he controlled Robbie Brady’s corner on his chest and hammered it home.

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It was a finish more reminiscent of a striker than a defender, but the 24-year-old old insists no-one should be surprised after a training-ground routine paid dividends.

“It was a great ball from Robbie,” said Keane. “We worked on it on Friday, going to the back post. I saw it all the way – Ben took their man away and I knew I had a bit of space.

“I just took it down with my chest and it sat up nicely for me and it was good to finish it off.

“I am always joining in the strikers’ finishing sessions. Sometimes the keepers tell me to go away and head it, but maybe I’ve earned myself a spot there now!

“I knew where the fans were and each time I score I like to celebrate with them because it makes it that bit more special.”

Cesc Fabregas may have just played in his 300^th Premier League game but the Chelsea midfielder says he is only looking to the future.

The Spaniard brought up the milestone in style, scoring early in the Blues’ 3-1 win at home to Swansea City – which stretched their lead at the top of the table to ten points.

Chelsea look on course to win the title for the second time in three years, although Fabregas has played a bit-part role this term.

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And the former Arsenal player thanked every manager he has played under in England for helping him reach an impressive landmark.

“I’ve worked very hard to make it to 300 and all I can say is thank you to everyone who has helped me reach this mark – to Arsenal, to Chelsea, to Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Antonio Conte,” he said.

“Obviously thanks goes to all the fans who support me, my family and friends as well.

“It has been many years, although it doesn’t feel like it, it feels like it was yesterday, but it’s been a long journey and hopefully it will be an even longer one.”

West Brom centre-back Gareth McAuley believes this season’s clampdown on shirt-pulling in the penalty box is the secret behind his unprecedented goalscoring success.

At the grand old age of 37, McAuley has become prolific in front of goal – already notching seven times this term, despite his defensive responsibilities.

The latest of those came in a 2-1 triumph over Bournemouth on Saturday, as the Northern Irishman took advantage of Cherries keeper Artur Brouc’s dismal attempt at punching clear a corner to net what turned out to be a 22^nd-minute winner.

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It was a seventh victory in their last eight home Premier League matches for the Baggies as they cemented their place in the top ten.

And while it may cause him more issues in his day job as a centre-back, McAuley is thankful the harsher rules on contact in the penalty box were implemented.

“People are asking me why I’m scoring so many? I can only think it’s partly because of the new rules, where people can’t hold you and wrestle you and you can get a move into the box,” explained McAuley.

“It’s certainly more difficult defending set-pieces. It’s maybe a reason why.

“Against Bournemouth, the ball fell nicely to me – they’re the ones you like when you can just tap it in.

“We work hard on set-pieces and we don’t make any apologies for it.

“It’s nice to get a goal but it’s also nice for it to count towards points for the lads.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain claims the Arsenal players are determined to do their best for the fans as much as themselves.

Staring Champions League elimination in the face and having slipped to fourth in the Premier League – ten points behind Chelsea – the regular mid-season calls for Arsene Wenger’s head have begun, and even louder than in previous years.

Wenger himself is said to be considering his future at the club – according to former Gunner Ian Wright at least – but the Ox is adamant the whole squad want success as much as the fans.

“We want to be able to respond for the fans,” he said. “They want to win as much as we do. We’re all in this together and we all want the same thing, so we’ve all got to stand up and be counted.

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“People have been doubting us and it’s important that we pick ourselves up to try to turn the tide into a more positive one.

“Our fans are great home and away. They’re very loud so we hear them when they’re happy and when they’re frustrated, but that’s part and parcel of being at a massive club like Arsenal.

“They want us to win the league, so when we’re losing games and it seems like it’s slipping out of our hands, it’s going to be frustrating.

“That’s understandable because we’re a massive club and we’ve got a great team that is more than capable of competing for the title.”

Match-winner Patrick van Aanholt revealed that the Selhurst Park atmosphere made all the difference in Crystal Palace’s vital win over Middlesbrough.

A January signing from relegation rivals Sunderland, Van Aanholt got his first Palace goal in the 34th minute as Sam Allardyce’s men moved out of the relegation zone and into 17th.

And after such a crucial intervention, he praised Palace’s faithful fans.

“It was an unbelievable moment for me –  for myself and my teammates and for the club. It was a good three points,” he said.

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“We were very good [defensively]. In the first half we came out and were dominant, like, ‘we’re here to win this game’ we created a lot of chances, Christian (Benteke) had a couple of chances in the box and I’m very happy I scored the goal.

“We trained very hard because we didn’t have a game last week and after that we got a couple of days off, because rest is also important. We came back together, worked hard in the week and that’s paid off today. I think we showed everyone we were up for winning the game today and we did.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable today. It was my second home game and throughout the whole game they showed us support.”

Aitor Karanka has no regrets about his decision to join Middlesbrough over Crystal Palace when he made the step into management.

For three years, the Spaniard was assistant to Jose Mourinho while the latter was in charge of Real Madrid, before leaving for the Riverside in November 2013.

Both sides are battling relegation from the Premier League, and the sides met at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon, the Eagles running out 1-0 winners thanks to Patrick van Aanholt’s strike.

Karanka’s side are 16^th with 22 points from 26 games, while Sam Allardyce’s Palace are one place below them on goal difference after the win.

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The Boro boss guided them to the Premier League last season, and maintains he chose wisely when opting for the north east as opposed to south London, despite Palace being in the Premier League at the time of his move, and the Teessiders in the Championship.

“It was the right one and this is the time to once again admit I was right,” Karanka said.

“At that time to start my career I needed to a team, a club, which could offer me confidence and at that time [Middlesbrough chairman] Steve Gibson gave me that confidence.

“To start your career without experience in the Premier League would have been difficult.

“Three years later, the only thing that I can say is I was right.”

Marc Albrighton has urged his Leicester City team-mates to play without fear when they try to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League next month.

Leicester lost 2-1 to Sevilla in the first leg in southern Spain on Wednesday but crucially got a 73^rd-minute away goal through Jamie Vardy.

That means a 1-0 victory at the King Power Stadium on March 14 would see the Foxes through to the last-eight.

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They will have a new manager at the helm for that game, after Claudio Ranieri was sacked on Thursday evening, but Albrighton claims self-belief is flowing through the side after the battling performance in Sevilla.

“We’ve got to go into the home leg with confidence and be positive with it,” said the midfielder.

“We’ve showed that we can play against this team. We’ve got to show no fear into that second leg.

“We’re expecting a night to remember and hopefully given the right result we can make it one.

“Obviously the away goal is a massive consolation for us. We didn’t go there to lose the game at all.

“We wanted to get a positive result but I think the away goal could be crucial in the tie and the main thing is to still be in with a shout going into the home leg. We’ve done that.

“We know the onus will be on us now, whereas in the first leg, it wasn’t – it was fully on them.”

Forward Heung-Min Son insists Tottenham Hotspur’s togetherness will ensure there is no hangover from their premature Europa League exit.

Chasing down a 1-0 deficit from the first leg against Gent, Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw at a sold-out Wembley Stadium, having led twice on the night.

Spurs still have plenty to fight for this term, with an Emirates FA Cup quarter-final against Millwall upcoming.

And though the Premier League title looks destined to go to Chelsea, Spurs are one of five teams hoping to gain the other three Champions League qualification spots.

And Son said: “We have to just keep looking forward though – it’s not everything.

“We are very young players and we are still really hungry.

“We want to try every game to give 100 per cent and everyone is excited to play again.

“Everyone is really happy to play every three days, we want to play and everyone wants to try to win every game.

“We are really good players, everyone really helps each other and we don’t have to worry – I think we have a really good chance to make a different atmosphere in the team.”