Falling in love with a squad still firmly in the midst of a relegation battle might seem strange. That being said, there is a lot to admire about this current West Ham squad, particularly the unity and team spirit within it, which have clearly played a key role in the recent turnaround in results.

After securing a huge point against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, West Ham continue to show they will not be going down without a fight. Since facing QPR in the FA Cup third round back in January, the Hammers have lost just two of their last twelve matches in all competitions. This recent run of form is giving supporters real hope that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will find a way out of the bottom three and retain their top flight status for another season.

Something that has been clear to see since the Hammers’ turnaround in form is the sense of togetherness, unity and overall team spirit that have been fostered within this current crop of players. It’s something which feels like it hasn’t been seen at the football club for a considerable amount of time.

Earlier this season, and for much of last season, watching West Ham felt like watching a team of individuals, almost as if when they stepped over that white line they were strangers to one another. It was a team with absolutely no cohesion, one that rarely looked capable of functioning as a collective unit.

Under both Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter there were reports of dressing room bust ups, with the latter falling out with a number of high profile players during his time in charge. This all felt a far cry from the West Ham squads under David Moyes who achieved three successive years of European football and lifted the Conference League.

During that era at West Ham, the squads were likeable. You knew there were strong bonds among the players, often seeing them spending time together away from football through social media posts. The players were united and pulled in the same direction, having a number of experienced pros who had been at the club for several years helped new arrivals understand what it meant to represent the football club.

Since the dismantling of the squad that won the Conference League, all those elements felt as though they had disappeared. For at least eighteen months, as a fan, that connection you felt towards the squad had drifted away.

You were left questioning things that may seem trivial on the surface but hold tremendous value such as whether players had genuine bonds or spent time together away from training and their weekly schedules. The evidence we’d seen in that regard for a number of years disappeared practically altogether.

However, that shared mentality, that band of brothers, has returned in tremendous fashion. West Ham have gone from appearing dead and buried to applying serious pressure to the teams around them, hitting form at the real crunch point of the season.

A number of players have discussed in recent interviews just how much the team spirit and sense of togetherness has grown and improved in recent months. Seeing the passion among the players when a goal is scored, an important save is made by the keeper, or even defenders celebrating tackles like goals is beautiful for supporters to witness.

It appears to be the driving force in West Ham’s improved fortunes and drastically increased chances of finding a way out of the bottom three and achieving Premier League survival. Reuniting what appeared a broken dressing room is something that Nuno Espirito Santo and his coaching staff deserve full credit for.