Avram Grant believes West Ham will steer clear of danger because they are capable of competing with anyone.

The Hammers have spent much of the 2010/11 campaign languishing inside the Premier League drop zone, putting their top flight status under threat.

There have, however, been signs that the club is capable of much more, with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United disposed of in league and cup.

They may need to repeat those heroics if they are to edge away from trouble, as fixtures against United, Chelsea and Tottenham lie ahead in their basement battle.

Grant, though, insists his side will enter each and every game believing they can take the spoils, with there no reason for anyone at Upton Park to fear a rival.
Belief

“Sometimes I know people lose their belief when they are at the bottom, but we never did it. We were always seeking to do it our way,” he said.

“I am very happy that we took the points against Liverpool, but now we have a lot of games ahead of us that we want to continue with these performances and to keep winning.”

Grant added: “Of course we need to win those games against teams around us, but we will not give up in any game.

“We showed we are a class team against Liverpool, in the beginning of season against Tottenham and in the Carling Cup against Manchester United.

“If we are at our best, we are not an easy team to beat.

“We have a good chance to stay up if we keep playing as we have been playing the last games and taking points.”

Target

West Ham have taken 28 points from as many games this season and are currently one adrift of safety.

Breaking the 40-point barrier is normally considered to be enough to beat the drop in any particular season, but Grant is hoping to significantly better that total.

He said: “I know that last year was 35 points, the year before was 38, but the last time West Ham were relegated it was with 42 points.

“It depends because this season there is not a weak team, every team is taking points.

“It will be difficult to predict how many points you need.

“But I am not looking at this because if we do what we need to do, we don’t need to look at this.”

Avram Grant has insisted his focus is on turning around West Ham’s flagging fortunes rather than his own future.

The manager continues to have the backing of the Upton Park board but the pressure is steadily mounting after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

The result left West Ham bottom of the table and four points adrift of safety, leading to more questions about Grant’s job security.

The Israeli, who replaced Gianfranco Zola over the summer, insists such matters are not important as he is only concerned about the team.
Improve

Grant knows the Hammers are struggling but feels the outlook could be brighter by the turn of the year, with a series of upcoming games against other teams in the bottom half of the table.

“I am not thinking about my position – I am thinking only that I need to do my job,” he said.

“Our position is not so good and I don’t need to think if my job is like this or like that.

“My job is to improve the team and take points, especially in the next games.”

West Ham travel to Blackburn next Saturday before facing Fulham, Everton and Wolves over the Christmas period.