West Ham must be positive and have belief, says Thomas Hitzlsperger

Thomas Hitzlsperger is confident West Ham United's unexpected and impressive victory over Liverpool will convince the team they can secure enough points from a daunting run-in to achieve Premier League survival. Sunday's eye-catching 3-1 success at Upton Park ended Liverpool's eight-match unbeaten run and moved West Ham from the foot of the table, providing a timely response to Wolverhampton Wanderers' resounding win over Blackpool the previous day. Avram Grant's team must play Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea in their final 10 games and the players should gain confidence from the manner in which they dismantled sixth-placed Liverpool. "The way we approach the games is important, being positive and believing we can beat these teams," said Hitzlsperger, who was impressive alongside Scott Parker in his second appearance for the club after a lengthy thigh injury. "Liverpool are a very good side and had played well over the last few weeks but we had the confidence we could beat them. It starts with work-rate, closing them down, and we have to treat every game like this – it was not a cup final but a very important game. It doesn't matter if we're playing Manchester United or Stoke next week, they are all big games. "It's pretty straightforward from now on in: we want to stay in the league. We have been in the bottom three for most of the season and now there are only 10 games left. It's hard enough as we know the teams we are going to play against are very good and the next one against Stoke will be tough. They are a different side with a different style of football but it's close down there. There are so many that could still get relegated, so it will be a fight to the very last day." Only six points cover Everton in ninth place to Wigan Athletic in 20th in a congested table, offering those currently below the cut-off genuine hope of survival. West Ham's prospects appear to have been boosted by their boldness in the January transfer window – the club's hierarchy strengthened throughout by sanctioning the signings of Robbie Keane, Demba Ba, Gary O'Neil and Wayne Bridge – and the team have now lost only once in their last six games in all competitions and have an FA Cup quarter-final, also against Stoke, to come. There was encouragement to be taken, too, in Matthew Upson's ability to play against Liverpool where it had been feared he might miss the rest of the campaign with an achilles injury. "It is still a problem I need to sort out but it's getting a lot better, so I'm hopeful in the next few weeks I'll clear it up," said the England defender. "There was a bit of cloudiness on the diagnoses, which was the problem and probably why it came out that I was out, because it was one verdict. But it isn't the case. I've had a couple of people look at it: it's been a confusing couple of weeks but I feel confident about it now and can play 90 minutes. It will not require surgery. "That win against Liverpool was a major part in our survival campaign. The Wolves result had put us under pressure and, when you look at our fixtures, we are going to have to get points against teams you would say we would not beat. We are running out of teams to play in and around us. We needed three points against a team like Liverpool to stay up. You always look around you to see where people are but we have to focus on ourselves. Only three points will do for us at the moment. We can nick a draw here and there but we need three-point games and, if we do that, we will give ourselves every chance. "We have Stoke to come here on Saturday and you can't make games bigger than they are. Mentally it affects players in a negative way if you do. You just go into it as Stoke at home. We know what we'll do: it'll be a battle and a totally different scenario to the Liverpool game. The game will be won or lost in the air in both boxes and we have to be prepared for that." West Ham have appointed their former captain Steve Lomas as reserve-team manager, succeeding Alex Dyer who left to become Charlton's assistant manager.