IT'S officially the half way-point in the inaugural Championship season with 23 games completed and 23 left to play.
The Hammers have collected 38 points so far and sit in fifth place in the table, nine points behind pace setters Wigan. Of their 23 games, Alan Pardew's men have won 11, drawn five and lost seven, a record that leaves the Hammers boss insisting that his team need to turn more of their good performances into wins during the second half of the season to achieve automatic promotion.
"There have been times this season when we've put in strong performances and got nothing," he admitted. "In some of those games we've felt aggrieved to have not taken all three points, like the Leeds game when we conceded a last minute penalty.
"But that match also highlighted the fact that we've not done enough to kill off teams this season. There have been lots of examples when we've been winning by the odd goal going into the last few minutes of a game and then come very close to conceding.
"If we had scored a second against Leeds when we were dominating then the last minute penalty wouldn't have mattered so much. We need to be more ruthless in finishing games off and that is something we hope to address going into the second half of the campaign.
"However, that said, we've played some excellent football at times this season and have also shown that there is a resilient streak in the squad. That was evident against Watford recently and when you are trying to win promotion it's the sort of attitude you need."
The Hammers have undoubtedly suffered due to the absence of key players during the first half of the season. Christian Dailly has not played since undergoing knee surgery in September, while Teddy Sheringham and Malky Mackay both missed more than a month of football with thigh and calf problems respectively. Add to that suspensions for Hayden Mullins, Nigel Reo-Coker, Steve Lomas, Marlon Harewood and Chris Cohen and even the biggest of squads would be suffering.
"Avoiding suspensions and injuries during the second half of the season will be crucial," said Pards. "We've missed some of our experienced players so far this season. Malky and Teddy were out for long periods, while Christian's knee injury has been a real blow both on and off the pitch.
"He's a natural leader and a great professional to have in the dressing room. We've missed his composure at the back and also his presence both attacking and defending set-pieces.
"But we're hopeful that he'll be back by the New Year and that the treatment room will be fairly clear. You are always going to have the odd knock here and there, but it's the big injuries to key players that really hurt."
With the promotion race still wide open Pards knows that the Hammers face stiff competition from the teams below and above them in the table. But he insists that West Ham must focus only on the results that they can affect during the promotion push and attempt to block out external pressures.
"The two teams at the top, Ipswich and Wigan, have strong points totals," he admitted, "which means that we do have some ground to make up. But the League is very open, no one is really dominant, and that will work in our favour.
"There are even teams below us that could yet have an impact on the promotion race so we're not getting carried away with things just yet.
"There's still another half of the season to go and plenty of points left to play for. We have to focus on ourselves and concentrate on winning our games rather than worrying about other teams. We're still within sight of promotion and it's going to be a very interesting few months."