Hammers blogger Kwame Boakye gives his thoughts on the battles for come for the club

Newham Recorder: Antonio Nocerino of AC Milan. Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty ImagesAntonio Nocerino of AC Milan. Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images (Image: 2014 Getty Images)

February is going to be the month which defines West Ham’s season, a quick glance at the fixture list makes it easy to see why; three home games against Norwich, Southampton and Swansea and just a solitary away outing to Aston Villa.

February’s run of fixtures is the opportunity that one suspects Sam has been waiting for; the horrendous injury situation which has blighted our season thus far is finally clearing up; with only Winston Reid and Ricardo Vaz Te to return. Next month will also give Sam the opportunity to throw in new signings in the hope they can make a massive impact on a batch of very winnable games.

February’s return is going to be pivotal to how the rest of our season pans out; if we cannot secure a minimum of 9 points it’s difficult to see where the points are going to come from. Our end to the season is truly horrific; with four of our last six games against Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool.

There can be no more excuses, we’re walking a tight rope, we cannot afford to drop points in anymore must win games. Our January additions could prove crucial to our survival bid; our current squad have shown they’re not good enough by only winning a pathetic four out of 22 games.

They need some help, they need some experience and they most definitely need some quality and that’s what they’re going to get with Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borriello.

Our season almost rests with what kind of impact they and any other new signings can make between now and the season’s end.

In the disaster that was the Avram Grant relegation season back in 2011 David’s Gold and Sullivan flashed the cash in a desperate bid to escape the drop; back then it was Demba Ba, Robbie Keane and Wayne Bridge who were recruited in the January window of that season and despite some impressive performances and wins it ultimately didn’t work. Fast forward 3 years and we find ourselves in the exact same situation; this time it simply has to work; relegation would be an even bigger disaster now than it was then with the move to the Olympic Stadium looming ever so tantalisingly over the horizon.

Next month it’s either sink or swim for West Ham United.