After the vital victory at the Emirates on Saturday, Lucas
Neill believes the Hammers are well on the way to ensuring
Premiership survival.
"After three wins in a row, and two clean sheets, everyone has got the belief now," he said. "I think we've instilled it, even in those who really doubted, and if we keep playing the way we are, with commitment, organisation and passion, we'll give ourselves a really good chance of securing that Premiership status.
"We knew Arsenal would come at us - they'd had two losses in a row, and we knew we had to stay strong and, no matter what happened, stick together. No one could have expected just how fast they did start but, after 15 minutes, we took heart from the fact that they'd had a great start but hadn't scored a goal.
"We knew we'd get chances, and it was just a case of staying solid, tracking runners and working as hard as we could. We got the goal at a perfect time, and then showed great resilience to hold on for the remaining 49 minutes!"
Lucas played the ball up for Bobby Zamora to put the Hammers ahead, but the 29-year-old defender remained modest about his role in the goal.
"My pass was one thing but the finish from Bobby was something else," he said. He's in a lovely little purple patch at the moment and we need to keep that going.
"The luck was definitely on our side in the second half, and Greeny was absolutely magnificent of course. You need that when you come to places like the Emirates Stadium.
"Overall, though, you need to be everyone at it, and all the boys were. The crowd were enjoying it - especially the fact that we were 1-0 up after Arsenal had 30-odd shots to our five!
"Like I said, we rode our luck a little, but after the way we've played in the last three or four games, we deserve that. From what I hear, we got hardly any in the early part of the season, so it's important that we now get it when we need it."
After three consecutive wins, Lucas admitted the Hammers will be travelling up to take on Sheffield United full of confidence, but aware of the precarious league position.
"We're the form team, which is a nice feeling when there are only six games to go," he said. "It's good to have the momentum, the belief that you are going to win every time you play - but it's important not to get carried away.
"We are where we are, and we've got ourselves in a better position because of how we've played in the last three games. It's important that we don't take our foot off the pedal, show the same spirit and attitude, and make sure we stay organised.
"Sheffield United away - as long as we don't let them get away from us - a draw may not be the worst result there, because we will still give ourselves a chance.
"At home, I fancy us against anyone. Chelsea, Everton, Bolton - they are all beatable and, with the crowd behind us, we have every chance. Everyone's smiling now, and we can't wait for the next game."
"After three wins in a row, and two clean sheets, everyone has got the belief now," he said. "I think we've instilled it, even in those who really doubted, and if we keep playing the way we are, with commitment, organisation and passion, we'll give ourselves a really good chance of securing that Premiership status.
"We knew Arsenal would come at us - they'd had two losses in a row, and we knew we had to stay strong and, no matter what happened, stick together. No one could have expected just how fast they did start but, after 15 minutes, we took heart from the fact that they'd had a great start but hadn't scored a goal.
"We knew we'd get chances, and it was just a case of staying solid, tracking runners and working as hard as we could. We got the goal at a perfect time, and then showed great resilience to hold on for the remaining 49 minutes!"
Lucas played the ball up for Bobby Zamora to put the Hammers ahead, but the 29-year-old defender remained modest about his role in the goal.
"My pass was one thing but the finish from Bobby was something else," he said. He's in a lovely little purple patch at the moment and we need to keep that going.
"The luck was definitely on our side in the second half, and Greeny was absolutely magnificent of course. You need that when you come to places like the Emirates Stadium.
"Overall, though, you need to be everyone at it, and all the boys were. The crowd were enjoying it - especially the fact that we were 1-0 up after Arsenal had 30-odd shots to our five!
"Like I said, we rode our luck a little, but after the way we've played in the last three or four games, we deserve that. From what I hear, we got hardly any in the early part of the season, so it's important that we now get it when we need it."
After three consecutive wins, Lucas admitted the Hammers will be travelling up to take on Sheffield United full of confidence, but aware of the precarious league position.
"We're the form team, which is a nice feeling when there are only six games to go," he said. "It's good to have the momentum, the belief that you are going to win every time you play - but it's important not to get carried away.
"We are where we are, and we've got ourselves in a better position because of how we've played in the last three games. It's important that we don't take our foot off the pedal, show the same spirit and attitude, and make sure we stay organised.
"Sheffield United away - as long as we don't let them get away from us - a draw may not be the worst result there, because we will still give ourselves a chance.
"At home, I fancy us against anyone. Chelsea, Everton, Bolton - they are all beatable and, with the crowd behind us, we have every chance. Everyone's smiling now, and we can't wait for the next game."