Patience is key for West Ham and their fans at this stage in the club's history

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Danny Murphy20 October 2017

Even though West Ham have the fourth-highest average attendance in the Premier League this season, their fans need to understand that they will struggle to be anything more than a mid-table club at this stage in their history.

The move to the Olympic Stadium really set them back and they signed too many average players during the summer of 2016.

Progress in this League is rarely rapid and the club’s owners need to realise that, too.

Slaven Bilic is a manager under pressure but I hope they give him more time to guide the team up the table.

The recruitment for this season was braver than for last and they appear to have thought about it much more carefully.

Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic are quality players who should, over time, give them a much-needed edge in attack.

Suspensions don’t help - and Andy Carroll will now be banned after his red card at Burnley (above) - but I have no fear about West Ham and relegation.

When both Carroll and Manuel Lanzini are available, it is difficult for Bilic to choose his best XI without upsetting those who are already in the team.

They also have some players whose best years at this level are probably coming to an end, and they will need to be replaced.

West Ham have been solid enough at the back in recent matches and if they can find that potency in attack, they should have too much for Brighton tonight.

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