Avram Grant insists West Ham will not be relegated this season despite seeing his side sink to the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table once again on Saturday.
Last week's surprise 1-0 win over Tottenham dragged the Hammers off the foot of the table for the first time since August 28 but victories for Everton and Wigan meant Grant's side dropped to the bottom of the pile despite a creditable 1-1 draw with unbeaten Fulham.
"We are not a team to be on the bottom of the league," said Grant, who took financially-beleaguered Portsmouth down last year.
"We are not heading for relegation. We play football to be in a better place and we will do it."
Grant points to his team's spirited second half performance against Mark Hughes' side on Saturday as proof that his team are improving.
Having gone in 1-0 down thanks to Clint Dempsey's opener, the East Londoners hit back with a combative display after the break to earn a draw and stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to four matches.
"Two months ago we would have lost that match," the former Chelsea boss said.
"My team are improving and we played strongly in second half. That didn't happen in the first few games of the season
"I was delighted to see the second half performance because one of the problems was that at 1-0 down everyone's head was down and everyone was feeling sorry for themselves - but we were stronger in the second half.
"We had the spirit that gave us the thought that we could win the game."
Source: PA
