West Ham run-in: Can David Moyes make history in the Europa League?

The term “business end of the season” gets bandied about often but rarely has it been so true for West Ham.

While their Premier League form has tailed off somewhat, the Europa League offers a chance of glory.

Jack Rosser looks at what lies ahead in the run-in...

Things are looking better for West Ham following the break. There were fears that Jarrod Bowen may not be fit to face Lyon next week by David Moyes is sounding more confident around his fitness by the day, while Vladimir Coufal is also close to making his return.

Angelo Ogbonna has been a long-term absentee but the Italian is hopeful of making a surprise return before the end of the season, while Michail Antonio has been much more robust and largely avoided injury this season.

History, frankly. West Ham’s continued progression under Moyes has been impressive and they are fighting for consecutive finishes in the European spots, but the real hope lies in the Europa League.

The Hammers are into a first quarter-finals since 1981 and they are not shy about pushing to win a first continental trophy since 1965. It is a tall order, but one Moyes is seriously pushing for.

To prevent any vitriol from the fan base over a lack of investment in the squad in January, finishing in the European spots is somewhat of a must.

West Ham have slipped out of the race for the top four, something that was slightly skewed by the postponement of games, but can still put up quite the fight for the top six with some of their rivals for those spots still to play one another.

Staying in Europe can change West Ham for the long term.

Fitness will be key given the relative size of West Ham’s squad but also their evolving mentality. Moyes has moved his side away from their "flaky" and