Relief for David Moyes as West Ham end winless streak
David Moyes hopes West Ham have turned a corner after finally beating bogey side Brentford 4-2.
On a night of firsts, Jarrod Bowen scored a first career hat-trick to ease the pressure on boss Moyes after a rotten run of eight matches without a win.
The Hammers won their first match of 2024, with Bowen scoring his first goals since before Christmas and becoming the first Hammers player to hit a treble at the London Stadium.
It means West Ham, for all the talk of their poor form and Moyes' future, are back up to eighth and in the mix for Europe again.
"Most teams have difficult periods in the Premier League. Manchester City have, Liverpool have, so West Ham are certainly going to be no different," said Moyes.
"We’ve struggled to get our best team out, but overall if we can get our better players out there we can compete with most teams.
"I'd hoped it was coming. It was needed. Our form in six weeks has been poor. It's good to score four goals and get a win at home.
"[Eighth place] is not bad at this time of the season. We're always getting a level of criticism but we're up there challenging.
"There's a lot of teams with a lot of money and experience. It was only three years ago we were battling to avoid relegation most seasons."
Bowen scored twice inside the opening seven minutes before Neal Maupay pulled one back for the Bees, who had beaten West Ham in all five of their previous Premier League meetings.
Bowen headed his third midway through the second half and Emerson Palmieri hit a 20-yard rocket before Yoanne Wissa pulled another back.
"I'm really pleased for Jarrod, his performances have gone unnoticed as we’ve not been playing well," added Moyes.
"Tonight it happened for him, his all-round play, the way he was working, he was a