West Ham United captain Kevin Nolan has credited hard work for the team's 1-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday.

The Hammers ended their seven-game run without a Premier League victory on the weekend thanks to a narrow triumph at Upton Park.

Nolan is pleased that West Ham got the result that they deserved against the Black Cats following a tough string of results.

"It wasn't the prettiest game in the world but that doesn't matter when you get a win," he told the club's official website. "That's the most important thing when you've gone on a run of 12 games with only one victory.

"We've been playing well at home and probably deserved a lot more points than we picked up. This game is very harsh and we've come away with a few dodgy results over the last couple of weeks, but on Saturday, hard work got us a deserved victory.

"We've got eight games left which we think we can pick up a lot more points from. Hopefully it's going to be a good run in for us. Let's not forget we played all the top teams in the Premier League in that 12-game run, so it's been difficult. We've got teams in and around us so it's a time where we're looking to gain points."

West Ham continue their Premier League campaign on April 4 when they face Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.