Evening news round-up for Thursday 15/12/16 by 337hammer.

Slaven Bilic wants cure for ‘cramp’ as manager suggests West Ham were ‘afraid to win’.

“It was a very important win and very hard fought,” said the Hammers boss. “It was a long game, to be fair, but I think we deserved it. It was two different halves, in the first half we controlled the game and should have been two up.

“I have praised the players for the three points but in the second half I saw what I call that cramp, when you are afraid of winning. “It happens to clubs who are underachieving. I don’t want it. The only way it goes away is by winning games and climbing the table. “Hopefully on Saturday against Hull we will see less of that cramp, and we will be more confident.” standard.co.uk

I have never heard it described as ‘cramp’ before, but confidence is obviously still affecting our performances. How did you rate our performance against Burnley? What aspects of the match were you happy with? How did you rate the line-up and player performance?

West Ham chairman David Gold gives his opinion about Burnley win.

David Gold was obviously pleased about getting  3 valuable points in the match against Burnley at the London Stadium. He took to Twitter to send a message about his feelings after the match and sent this message:

“What a fantastic night for results. It wasn’t a convincing victory over Burnley but it was a welcome 3 points. Well done lads. dg”

Burnley win the perfect present for Cress.

Wednesday’s hard-fought victory over Burnley came as an early birthday present for Aaron Cresswell, who celebrates turning 27 today. The England left back was delighted with the result, which ended a wait of six games for a victory and lifted the Hammers up to 15th in the Premier League table

The No3 explained: “First and foremost it was about three points on Wednesday and that’s what we got. “We have to take the positives and look forward to Saturday now. “First half I thought we were excellent and could have really killed the game off by being 3-0 or 4-0 up. Nobes hit the post, Pedro hit the post and then we got the penalty.

“We’d like 12 points [from the run of four games the Hammers are on], but we know how tough the Premier League is and our main focus is on Saturday and Hull. “We won’t look any further for now – we’ll play our game on Saturday and then look ahead to Swansea.” whufc.com

Do you think our first half performance deserved more goals? Is Cresswell right to be saying that the only thing that matters now is the next game against Hull?

Cheikhou Kouyate losing sleep over Premier League basement battle.

West Ham climbed up to 15th place with last night’s 1-0 win over Burnley – and could climb seven points clear of the drop zone with another home victory over Hull on Saturday. But the Senegal star, who won the Belgian title four times with Anderlecht, said: “It is the first time I have been in a relegation scrap and it is not nice. “You are stressed a lot more, playing but also following the results of the other teams at the bottom of the table. I hope we get out of it quickly because I have to admit, I have not been sleeping well recently.

“It is big surprise because, for me, the team is better than last season but we are not very lucky, we have a lot of injuries, it does not stop. “There are times like that where nothing goes well and you have to stay together. Fortunately, the table is very tight and we can quickly climb if we get back to back wins.”Kouyate has been shifted back from midfield to play in a three-man defence by Slaven Bilic this season. “Every[one] knows I prefer to play in midfield but the coach needs me at the back,” he told Belgian paper La Derniere Heure. mirror.co.uk

West Ham to confirm long-term Reece Oxford contract on his 18th birthday.

West Ham United will announce on Friday that highly-rated teenager Reece Oxford has signed a new five-year contract. The deal has been agreed with Oxford and it will be confirmed on his 18th birthday, December 16, following lengthy negotiations with his advisers.

Following talks, Oxford has been assured he is part of manager Slaven Bilic’s plans. He has featured just twice this season, both appearances coming in the Europa League, and is currently recovering from an ankle ligament injury sustained in training. telegraph.co.uk

As previously reported by ‘ex’ the new deal is about to be signed very soon, good news for us and now let’s hope Reece gets some chances in the first team when he returns from injury. I hope to see Oxford and Burke together at the back in a future partnership.

Lack of consistency doesn’t bode well for West Ham’s survival hopes.

So far, the Hammers have played 16, won four, drawn four and lost eight – already equalling the amount of defeats they suffered in the 2015-16 campaign. Between them, their six strikers have managed just two goals, while at the other end of the pitch, only two sides have conceded more than them.

With the winter transfer window just around the corner, [fans will] be hoping the board will spend big and bring the right players in. The 10/1 on offer may suggest the Hammers could be safe this season. ladbrokes.com

How do you think we will perform in the January transfer window? Will we spend big or look for loans? Should we go for proven premier league players this time or look abroad?

Mark Noble: Points over performances for West Ham.

Mark Noble admits points are all that matter at moment after scoring the winner in West Ham’s hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley on Wednesday. “I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a point in the second half when we just wanted the final whistle to come,” Noble said. We sat back. Obviously nerves came into it because we wanted the win so badly and we just tried to hit them on the counter-attack.

“The three points are massive. We’ve got another home game on Saturday and at this stage and given where we are, it doesn’t matter how we play, but how many points we get. “We’ve played a lot better than that and lost games.” skysports.com

Is Mark right? Is it just the points that matter whilst we are in our current predicament? Do you not want to be entertained?

Carlos Bacca is ‘very happy’ at AC Milan and is going nowhere claims agent.

AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca is ‘very happy’ at the club, according to his agent, who has dismissed talk of his client moving to West Ham in January. The frontman was heavily linked with a move away from the San Siro in the summer after scoring 20 goals last season. The Colombian was reportedly frustrated by a lack of European football and West Ham made an audacious move to bring him to London.

Bacca ended up snubbing that offer and Arsenal have since been linked with an approach for the 30-year-old in January. However that now appears unlikely after the striker’s agent, Sergio Barila, revealed his client is settled where he is. “Bacca is very happy at Milan,” Barila told MilanNews. “In addition, both the coach [Vincenzo Montella] and the club are happy with him.” talksport.com

So Bacca’s agent says that his player is very happy at Milan. Does that mean anything? Do you think the player might move in January? Would you like him to come to us? He allegedly turned us down in the summer after a we had long chase for him; do you think he might have changed his mind now?

Doctor comfirms West Ham player ruled out for the season, surgery in Germany.

There will be no January return to Besiktas for West Ham United winger Gokhan Tore according to Fanatik. The 24-year old has been ruled out for the season following surgery on his knee in Germany last week. Tore’s personal doctor Ertuğrul Karanlık has confirmed. “We decided not to take any risks. I’m sure he’ll be back stronger. This is a good choice for him (to undergo surgery). He’ll have his rehab until the end of the season and after that we’ll see a stronger Tore.”

Fanatik also reveal West Ham are not going to activate the clause in Tore’s contract, which is thought to be around €10 million. Tore is now set to carry out his rehabilitation at West Ham and return to Besiktas after the end of the season. sportwitness.co.uk

Bad news for the player and for us. No winners here!