Lukasz Fabianski says West Ham United’s progress over the course of the 2018/19 season is plain to see.
Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Newcastle United extended their unbeaten home run to a sixth game and keeps them hot on the heels of Wolves and Watford in fight for seventh position.
Fabianski provided a formidable last line of defence against the Magpies, keeping a clean sheet to ensure Declan Rice and Mark Noble’s first half goals were enough for maximum points, meaning memories of the team’s slow start to the campaign have faded.
He said: “If we compare our performances and results from the start of the season to what is happening now, then there’s a massive difference and I think you can see that the atmosphere inside the ground is totally different.
“We’ve improved as a team and I think the fans can see that. It was another great night at London Stadium on Saturday, so we’re happy.
“We were clinical on Saturday and that’s always important, especially against a team like Newcastle who are very good defensively.
“I don’t think we created too many chances, but we punished them with the ones we did and the timing was great too. You always want to start strongly, and then the second goal towards the end of the first half always gives you an advantage.
“I think we’re making progress, but then again we have nine games to go and we want to finish strongly, as high as possible in the table, and show the fans that we are a team who wants to be challenging for higher places in the league.
“That’s our challenge towards the end of the season and hopefully we will be able to do that.”