Following a difficult few weeks both on and off the pitch, maybe just maybe, Julen Lopetegui’s fortunes are turning the corner.
The Hammers head coach certainly seems to think so.
“December was always going to be a key month for us,” contended the Spaniard after his side extended their unbeaten run to three matches.
“I’m pleased that we have managed to get five points so far and we have seen some positive signs, too.
“Although we did some good things at Leicester City we lost (3-1) but since then we have beaten Wolves (2-1) and came very close to winning a difficult game at Bournemouth (1-1), too.
"Brighton are a team who are also very hard to play against but we were better than them in the first half and, although they were the better side in second half, we still had some more good moments. I thought it was a very good match for us.”
Following a goalless first period, West Ham fell behind in controversial circumstances on 51 minutes after the recalled Mats Wieffer netted his first goal for the visitors since his £25million summer move from Feyenoord.
The otherwise excellent Łukasz Fabiański spilled Pervis Estupiñán’s cross under pressure from Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk and that allowed the Dutchman to sidefoot into an unguarded Hammers net.
Match official, Robert Jones, waved away appeals for a foul on the Polish shot-stopper, while Brighton also survived a Video Assistant Referee review for a possible offside.
“Sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are unlucky. We just have to accept the referee’s decisions in these situations,” conceded the philosophical Lopetegui, who then saw his side level seven minutes later. “The good thing was that we showed a good reaction.”
Indeed, with the breaking Jarrod Bowen outwitting a trio of back-pedalling Brighton defenders before unleashing an awkward 18-yarder that keeper Bart Verbruggen could only parry into the Stratford skies, Mohammed Kudus arrived bang on cue to nod home the equaliser.
Having just bagged his third goal of the season, the 40-cap Ghana international then brought some festive fun to the proceedings by producing his own bespoke, hand-carved wooden stool for his customary sit-down celebration.
“I was very happy for Mohammed Kudus today and like the whole team he showed very good commitment. Not only is he a good attacking player but he is also focusing on working hard to improve defensively, too,” added Lopetegui, whose 94-year-old father sadly passed away last week.
“After we came back to equalise we had some good moments to win the game so but so did Brighton.
“It’s been a hard week for a lot of reasons but like I say, our reaction was good and everyone out on the pitch showed good commitment right until the end. We still need to defend better and be calmer when we have the ball, while we must also find more solutions when we are attacking. Those are our next tasks.”
After a Boxing Day trip to Southampton, the Hammers host Liverpool on Sunday (5.15pm).