"He is a top class player, Connors - you don't go to World Cups and not be," says Michael.
"The lads really appreciate him and even if he hasn't scored an awful lot of goals in the last few months he does a lot more than that for us.
"It was a good little finish from Connors on Saturday, that is what he is all about; I thought he was quality - and Marlon got the second so he will be happy going for his golden boot."
Connors himself, meanwhile, admits he is frustrated at having to miss out on the chance of facing his old club at the weekend.
"It is disappointing to miss Watford as it a massive game I wanted to play in - it is unfortunate," he says, reflecting on his one match ban.
"It will still be a tough one, hopefully they'll feel that they're safe and be able to play with freedom."
Getting the right balance between playing with flair and keeping it tight - as the team did on Saturday - is what Connors is hoping for when he watches his colleagues against Watford, and he adds:
"We want to do well for ourselves, the club, and the fans - we can't be too lackadaisical about it even if there is some tension.
"Everyone worked hard, and the back four and keeper were terrific on Saturday - sometimes when there is a lot of pressure you can be disjointed but it was okay on Saturday.
"If we keep defending as we did at Stoke we will have a good chance - in the end, although it was a tricky opening 20 to 25 minutes, it was a good performance.
"The first goal settled us down, we started to play some football - and the second meant we were comfortable.
"We've just got to keep it going - win the next two games and we're in the play-offs."
The suspension will allow him to get some rest after picking up a knee injury that ruled him out of the trip to Poland with Eire on Wednesday, and he adds:
"I got a whack on the knee that made it sore."
A shame, though, that he has to miss out after scoring from open play at Stoke.
"I don't care who scores as long as we get the points," he insists.
"It wasn't the cleanest strike against Stoke; the keeper had maybe got his positioning a bit wrong in one corner - but it doesn't matter how they go in."
David admits West Ham have had the breaks, more or less, in the last fortnight in terms of other clubs' results, and he adds:
"You can't have every result go for you but in the main the majority of them have in the last couple of weeks."
Back to Michael, who says there is a steely determination about the squad, as shown by the manner of the win at Stoke:
"It was a massive game but it wasn't built up so much amongst the lads - we just wanted to go out there and get the three points," he insists.
"The closer you get the more pressure that builds - but up to now we are doing all right.
"We wanted to win four out of four, it is two out of two so far and we are on the right track."
Michael was happy to be back in action at the weekend, and says:
"It was just good to be back and getting the win; I haven't really trained a lot in the last couple of weeks but I was happy we got the win."
As for Saturday, and that presentation of Hammer of the Year, Michael says:
"It is a big game; the last home game of the season in the league and it is always a special atmosphere so we will have to make sure we get three points."