By CandH’s top blogger Allen Cummings

When West Ham kicked off the 2019-2020 Premier League season, way back in August of last year, ahead of them were 38 league games spread across 10 months of competition.

It was the start of a long distance test of ability, character, endurance, managerial expertise – with the hope for a decent slice of luck along the way.

When the season, or Project Restart as it’s now known, kicks off again, the road ahead will be more like a sprint than a marathon, with the new finishing line only a matter of weeks not months away. For West Ham, and others in a similar position to us, it will be a dramatic nine game dash to safety!

There will be little or no time for any club to ‘play’ themselves into form. The teams that hit the ground running will be the ones to survive. Getting off to a flyer will be crucial – first out of the stalls will have a massive advantage.

David Moyes will be hoping that his team’s form at the restart will match the start his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini enjoyed last year. Once past the opening day 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Premier League Champions Manchester City, the Hammers quickly slipped into gear.

They enjoyed an unbeaten run in their following six games, bringing them three victories and three draws, and harvesting an impressive 12 points along the way. By game seven we were actually sitting loftily in third place in the table – and dreaming of Europe.

A similar run of good form, and an equally healthy points return from our first seven games after the restart, will see the Hammers sitting relatively comfortably on 39 points, with two games still to play. Who in the West Ham camp, players and supporters alike, wouldn’t be happy to be in that position if it were case?

From what we have heard coming out of the West Ham training ground, there appears to be a determination now to get back to work, a willingness to accept the challenge ahead and an eagerness to get the job over and done with!

How much easier would that job become if the team managed to be quickest into their stride to steal a march over their nearest rivals.