Slaven Bilic hopes West Ham’s Carabao Cup fightback against Tottenham will energise his players ahead of Saturday’s crunch game against Crystal Palace.
Spurs looked set to pile more misery on Bilic when Dele Alli and Moussa Sissoko gave the home side a two-goal lead at Wembley.
But West Ham came storming back in the second half as Andre Ayew scored twice and Angelo Ogbonna headed in for an unlikely 3-2 victory.
Angelo Ogbonna scored the winner as West Ham came from behind to beat Tottenham 3-2
Andre Ayew scored West Ham’s first two goals as they came from 2-0 behind at Wembley
After losing 3-0 at home to Brighton last Friday, Bilic admitted before the game this was another ‘do-or-die’ week for his side, who sit 16th in the Premier League table.
They now face a crunch match away to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace this weekend and Bilic hopes this victory can spark a revival.
‘It can give us a lot of confidence, but only to do the same in training, to do the same on Friday, on Saturday,’ the Hammers boss said.
‘We have to use this opportunity to work hard. We have two days before Palace, it’s not ideal but the win gives you energy, gives you freshness.
‘Now tomorrow at the training ground nobody is going to feel tired from the impact of our result, from beating them.’
West Ham lacked confidence and purpose in the first half against their London rivals but Ayew twice took advantage of poor defending to pull his side level.
Slaven Bilic hopes West Ham’s Carabao Cup fightback against Tottenham will energise players
West Ham’s players put in a very spirited performance to produce their impressive comeback
Bilic said his players have now set the standard they must maintain.
‘Other than Brighton, we improved a lot in the last six games,’ Bilic said. ‘This should be the standard for us in terms of closing down, in terms of sacrificing for the team.
‘Some games we may lose, but I am quite positive we are improving.’
Mauricio Pochettino had previously said he was prioritising the ‘real trophies’ of the Champions League and Premier League this season and he chose to rest the likes of Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen.
Next up for Bilic and his players is Crystal Palace, who are bottom of the Premier League
But Spurs are still yet to lift a trophy under his leadership and this was a chance missed to reach the quarter-finals of a competition they could realistically have won.
‘We allowed them to come back into the match,’ said boss Pochettino, whose side play Manchester United in the league on Saturday.
‘In the first half it was under control. In the second half, we lost a bit of the aggression. They have players that are always dangerous.
‘We showed a lack of aggression and everything we were doing in the first half. You can never lose your focus.’
Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has won just once in the league since taking over