Momentum with Hammers, says Grant

West Ham manager Avram Grant believes his side is peaking at just the right time in its bid to avoid the relegation trapdoor.

The Hammers made it two English Premier League wins in succession after toppling Stoke City 3-0 on Saturday, with strikes from red-hot loan forward Demba Ba, defender Manuel da Costa and fit-again German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger guiding their side out of the relegation zone and into 17th on the table.

“We have momentum at the right time,” Grant told ESPNsoccernet after the game.

“We will not score three goals every game, that’s for sure. Nobody is doing this.”

“I believe in this football, I believe in attacking football. You need balance, and we’re getting the balance better and better every game. But we have many players forward that can score now.”

Ba scored his fourth goal in Hammers colours as part of a three-pronged attack alongside Carlton Cole and Frederic Piquionne.

The forward almost joined Stoke before failing a medical in January, and the Hoffenheim loanee came back to haunt Tony Pulis’ men by putting West Ham in front after 21 minutes.

“I’m very happy that they (Stoke cancelled the deal),” Grant said.

“Nobody knew about Demba before I wanted to sign him. Even Stoke and Everton and other teams that wanted him, I don’t think they knew who he was. At the end of the day, he came to the team that wanted him from the beginning.”

Pulis, however, was not keen to dwell on what could have been if the club had pushed on and signed Ba, saying of the club’s medical staff: “You never criticise people for doing what they have to do in good faith. The medical side said what they had to say and you get on with it.”

“Up until the two goals, especially the first one, I thought we were well in the game. If anything, we probably had more control of the game.”

“Then we gave a silly goal away and they scored again from a set play, which is disappointing from our point of view. From then on, they deserved to win it.”