West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce made it his sole purpose to make sure that the club avoided relegation from the Premier League this season following their promotion during the previous campaign.
While there were departures for the likes of Robert Green, Abdoulaye Faye and John Carew over the summer, the arrivals of players such as Matt Jarvis, Modibo Maiga and Jussi Jaaskelainen gave the Hammers renewed optimism for the campaign ahead.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at how the team fared on their return to the top flight.
August:
The Hammers got their campaign off to a winning start with a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa, but they were soon brought back down to earth with a humbling 3-0 defeat at Swansea City. However, the month ended positively as they reached round three of the Capital One Cup by seeing off League One outfit Crewe Alexandra.
September:
The following month saw the team embark on a four-game unbeaten run in the league with a win over Fulham before draws against Norwich City and Sunderland. Their Capital One Cup campaign was cut short in their final fixture of September with a 4-1 hammering at home to Wigan Athletic.
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October:
Four league games without defeat eventually came about with 2-1 victory at Queens Park Rangers at the start of October before defeats against Arsenal and Wigan Athletic left the Hammers in eighth place in the table.
November:
The next month started with a credible goalless draw at home to champions Manchester City, which was followed by a victory at manager Sam Allardyce's former club Newcastle United and a draw with Stoke City. However, two tough away matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United saw the Hammers come away from both grounds with defeats.
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December:
One of the club's most memorable triumphs of the season came at the beginning of December thanks to a resounding 3-1 victory over local rivals Chelsea at Upton Park.
Despite that result, West Ham failed to win for the remainder of the month as defeats against Liverpool and Everton were complemented with draws at Reading and West Bromwich Albion.
January:
The turn of the year was a winning one courtesy of a victory over Norwich, but things took a steep downward turn with three defeats in four matches against Sunderland, Arsenal and Fulham.
A draw at home to QPR was sandwiched in the middle of that slump, while the Hammers were knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup by Manchester United.
The two teams played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Upton Park as West Ham found themselves 2-1 ahead at one point, but a late goal from Robin van Persie secured a replay for United, which they won 1-0.
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February:
A win over Swansea looked to have got February off to a positive start, only for defeats against Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur to end the month disappointingly.
The latter was something of a classic at Upton Park as a stunning Gareth Bale strike in the last minute denied the Hammers what would have been a very good point indeed.
March:
Despite a 2-0 loss at Chelsea, the following month was a relatively successful one for the Hammers as they also won at Stoke and at home to West Brom.
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April:
Draws against Liverpool, Southampton and Manchester United came before a 2-0 triumph over Wigan that all but sealed the club's place in the Premier League for next season. April ended with a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City.
May:
West Ham went into the final weekend of the season on the back of a goalless draw with Newcastle and a 2-0 defeat at Everton, but manager Allardyce is sure to be happy with his charges this season. Having reached the coveted 40-point mark, the boss was rewarded with a new contract at Upton Park.
They actually ended the campaign with 46 points to their name courtesy of a 4-2 home win over relegated Reading to secure a top-10 finish.
