There's been a whiff of happy nostalgia in David Moyes’s office of late. It’s lost on neither the West Ham manager nor his assistant, Alan Irvine, that this is not the first time they have pulled good things out of muck.
There is an encouraging precedent for what they have salvaged and hope to achieve at the London Stadium, and it is found 16 years in the past at Everton. From 17th place in 2004 to fourth in 2005 — it was the season Moyes made his name.
On Tuesday their current side, who survived in 16th last season, could go into the top four if they beat Crystal Palace.