A little over a month ago, after the 2-1 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, West Ham were seven points from safety and staring a return to the Championship square in the face.
That night felt like the final nail, especially considering the manner of the defeat, where VAR disallowed a first-half goal from Crysencio Summerville that would've seen us go 2-0 up and then awarded a controversial 89th-minute penalty for Forest to snatch all three points.
But since then, West Ham have shown signs of life and fight with three wins from our last four Premier League outings, including a late win at Tottenham and a convincing home victory over Sunderland. The one defeat, against Chelsea, saw us leading 2-0 at half-time. The performances and the form have improved to the point where it would be dangerous to write us off just yet, given there's now just a three-point gap between us and 17th-placed Forest.
There are similarities to the 2006-2007 season. West Ham were 10 points from safety heading into a home game against Tottenham. Having lead 2-0 at half-time and then 3-2 with five minutes to go, Spurs scored two late goals to win 4-3. Fans were crying in the stands. Mark Noble was crying on the pitch. It felt over then.
But that defeat sparked a run of seven wins in our final nine league games, securing Premier League safety and a 15th-place finish. One of the two defeats in that run came against Chelsea, too.
There's more football to be played now compared to then, but there is real optimism that West Ham could pull off yet another great escape.
With Summerville's goal scoring form, Bowen's importance and Mateus Fernandes' midfield dynamism, anything is possible right now.
We go again tomorrow against Manchester United…
Find more from James Jones at We Are West Ham
