Zaba is thinking only of Cardiff City and back to back wins!

Whether he plays or not given Manuel Pellegrini’s insistence that he can’t play in every game is another things but his commitment to the squad is clear.

Speaking about the game to www.whufc.com he said: “We are thinking about Tuesday, then we will think about Saturday [and Crystal Palace], but the main thing we need to focus on is Tuesday night because it’s another crucial game against a team who is fighting around us.

“I saw their game on Friday night [when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1] and we know how tough Cardiff are, especially physically they are a strong team.

“We need to put in another strong performance on Tuesday night and we need to win. Two or three wins in a row is what we need.

“It’s been a long time since West Ham won two or three games in a row, so this is a big chance for us because we’ve got two home games now, but it depends on us because we know every game is going to be tough, but our main mind is on Tuesday night.”

He was pleased with the performance against Newcastle saying: “Overall, I think we were the better team. It was a great performance, we scored three goals and we kept the clean sheet, which was something we have been looking for in the last few games and had been talking about needing to improve defensively and be solid at the back.

“I thought we did that on Saturday and were solid, then going forward the team was really dangerous and we scored three goals, but I think we could have scored at least two more if we’d been better in the final third.

“We just need to keep working. We are only on 15 points, so we need to keep progressing as a team. We still have got room for improvement but when you win, you get confidence and that’s all you need, when you’re in a period like December with seven games and you need every one.”

He added: “Chicharito will have had his confidence lifted by scoring two goals. We know Chicha is a penalty box player and if you put the ball into the area he is always there in the right time in the right moment to score goals. The second one was a great finish.

“We played with two strikers on Saturday and that was good. I think everyone was very good individually and of course, when everyone plays well then we perform much better collectively.”

ClaretandHugh says: There were signs early in the Newcastle game that Zaba may have been feeling the intensity of the season but once again he finished the game having given a top performance. Whether the manager plays him against Cardiff City remains to be seen although given his words ahead of Newcastle it would be a surprise were to do so. However, there’s no second guessing the boss as he has shown on various occasions and although it’s no given that he will be on the pitch his attitude as ever is spot on. Realistically it seems a game that he could miss with Michail Antonio already mentioned by the boss as being able to play in the position although personally if he’s anything like ok with himself I’d prefer to see the veteran in position. Back to back wins, as he says, would be brilliant and that has to be considered surely more than possible.