David Moyes believes the mood in West Ham's camp has been much improved following a prosperous January.
The Hammers won three of their four fixtures with only a narrow 1-0 defeat at Wolves bucking the trend.And as a result of those wins against Brentford, Everton and Derby County, the manager believes his team are beginning to rediscover the form that deserted them for much of the opening half of the 2022/23 campaign.
"I believe we can [push on now] - I think we've got a good side, we've got a good group of players," he said. "We've not shown it as much as we should have done so we have to do that now.
"We're not quite at the business end of the season yet, but we're getting closer to it. We're halfway through and we have to try and perform, but thankfully we have won three out of four in the last in the latest bundle of games.
"It's given us something to talk about, to feel much more positive. There's a bit more confidence around the team and it's great to see Jarod [Bowen] scoring a few goals and Micky Antonio back on the scoresheet. That will do them a world of good.
"Winning is always the key," he continued. "I would like our performances to improve. When I first came [to West Ham], what was important was how we got out of the problem we were in and we had to do that first and foremost. Then we started to look at how we could play better, how we would look.
"Now, at the moment, we have to make sure we pick up the wins and results. Thankfully, in the last couple of games, we've done a little bit of both. Good signs of performances and bits getting better. Good signs of doing right things.
"Keeping clean sheets is really important. There are signs that Jarrod Bowen and Micky Antonio are getting goals now, so we are beginning to get goals from areas we thought we weren't. Hopefully it is moving in the right direction."
And looking ahead to the challenge posed by this afternoon's opponents Newcastle, Moyes insisted his team will be in for a tough test against a side who in midweek secured their spot in the Carabao Cup Final.
"They're doing very, very well," he admitted. "They've set some really good standards in the opening part of the season and we know we have a tough game. Every team does when they go to St James' Park.
"It's an incredibly well supported football club. When you're up in the north east there's not always an awful lot else at times and football plays a huge part in everybody's life. They want success and Newcastle at the moment are getting a taste of it now. It makes them a difficult opponent."
And Moyes dismissed a suggestion that the Magpies current success was purely due to financial factors, with the club now owned by the vastly-wealthy Saudi Arabian state.
"I'd love to think football was not to do with spending money but if you are looking at, and I say this with real respect, some of the Newcastle players for a few years people saw them as complete write-offs and not good enough to be at the club," he said. "Some of them they've turned that round.
"Now that can be down to the players as individuals, it can be down to the manager, it can be down to the playing staff or it can be down to lots of other reasons - but it does go to prove that if you keep working at it, stick at it, challenge it, don't give up then you can get something.
"Obviously Newcastle have had a huge boost, the football club's had a huge boost. I think about us as West Ham; when we came in at West Ham, sort of pulling together - the fans, the directors, the players and everybody together going in one direction, I think that's the way Newcastle look at the moment.
"It's been pulled together and the players are doing so well. They've picked a good manager who folk were saying at the start would only be there a short time and then they'll bring someone else in, but it looks as if he's easily settled in to the job and rightly so.
"If you look at the players who weren't performing for them, there are a lot of similarities to what we've been like at West Ham over the last couple of years. I have to give them praise, they're a good side to watch as well at the moment."
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