It is the first 'free' week the players have had to work with Alan Pardew uninterrupted by a midweek game, though it must also be said that nine senior players have had to have treatment at some stage in the week so it has still not been the most ideal scenario for Alan to get some points across.
Nonetheless, that small amount of breathing space has afforded some time for quality work at Chadwell Heath and Christian says:
"It is the first time we have had a week together to work on things on the training ground because we have had an unbelievable run of games.
"So that has been good and of benefit, though we have had no problems at all - it has been excellent, very thorough, and we are really optimistic and enjoying it."
The importance of the fixture, over a third of the way through the season, is not lost on the skipper, who knows that a defeat would leave the Hammers trailing the side that are many pundits' favourites by seven points.
"This is a big game and there is no hiding from it; we are looking forward to it and want to win it," he concludes.