Paul Groves has spoken of the "belief and confidence" around the camp at the end of a solid week's work at Chadwell Heath.
The senior coach said morale was high after a four-match unbeaten run and that had translated on to the training pitches. "The lads are in a good spirit," he said. "We've managed to vary the work a little bit this week and give them a little bit of a different environment. We have been training hard at the right time. It's been a good week for us.
"We feel that the performances have gradually improved and got better. There is a bit more belief, a bit more confidence. Confidence is massive and it makes a big difference and I think it is there for everybody to see in the results and in the performances."
Groves said a weekend off would be welcome - especially for the likes of Scott Parker and Mark Noble who have figured in all seven league games and the two Carling Cup fixtures.
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"It is important to rest and recharge. It allows a little more time for one or two injuries to probably clear up. Players play with knocks here and there and invariably players go into games and they are not 100 per cent, so the time off does allow them to recover.
"Some have played a lot of games in a short space of time and this allows them to recover, regenerate and hopefully kick on again."
Kicking on again is what the Hammers will hope to do next week, starting with a friendly testimonial match at Dagenham and Redbridge on Monday night, in aid of former Academy product Lee Goodwin. It will be a mix of youth and experience in the Hammers squad, and Groves said it would be a useful start to the week.
"It gives the younger ones an opportunity to mix in with one or two of the seniors, which is always good. They get an opportunity in games like this when they can go out there and show people what they are about and how they cope with that environment. That's a big thing for the younger ones and they get good habits off the senior players."
Having been a professional player himself, Groves also said he was pleased to see Dagenham honour Goodwin after a decade of service to the League One club. "It is a fantastic gesture to the lad in the terms of obviously the hard work that he has put in.
"He is very obviously loyal, and it's good that fans can come show their appreciation and other clubs like ourselves can help him out. That is important especially when they've worked so hard."
The Hammers will obviously be without their international contingent, with Groves acknowledging that such call-ups can complicate preparations. "This time around it was late in the day in terms of knowing, certainly from the England set up, who was and who wasn't involved.
"The biggest thing for the lads that go away is coping with the amount of travel that is involved. They train and play and coming back off a heavy workload sometimes means that is a big demand for them to go and play at the weekend as well.
"We have to wait and see how they come back, but hopefully in the main we get them back in a good condition and they are available for selection at the weekend."
That weekend date is with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Groves said the management team were already steeling themselves for another tricky test - even if all have been boosted by the draw at Stoke City and victory at Sunderland.
"Most definitely it will be a tough game against Wolves. Mick McCarthy's teams always work extremely hard, very difficult to play against, but it's one that we going into with good confidence, one that we are looking forward to off the back of four unbeaten games, so it's a good game for us."
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