West Ham midfielder Mark Noble thinks that the foundations have been set at Upton Park to allow the Hammers to emulate the success of Tottenham Hotspur.

For a West Ham fan like Mark Noble, watching the success of Spurs over the last couple of years must have been a galling experience.

But the Hammers’ longest-serving player believes that his side can emulate Tottenham and become a powerful force in the Premier League in the future.

“I would be the first to say that things haven’t been going well for the last few years here,” said the 23-year-old, who played a vital role in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane.

“But if we can keep bringing in players like we have done recently, do some more good business in the windows, with the foundations we have, the fans we have and the club how it is, there is no reason why we can’t do what Tottenham are doing.”

After the disappointments and crisis of earlier in the season, Noble believes that the West Ham squad have come together as a team and that is the secret of their recent success.

“In the last month, we have done a lot of stuff together,” he said. “We’ve been on days out, been to Portugal for training and we have come together as a team and a club.

“When you bring in good players, this is what you get. When the recruitment system is good – as it is here – then you get quality players.”

Noble is certainly in optimistic mood, but he knows there is still hard work to be done before West Ham can secure Premier League safety.

“We just need as many points as we can get,” he said. “If we can get three points from every single game that would be key, but I don’t think that’s going to happen!

“We’ve got three games at the end of the season – Sunderland, Wigan and Blackburn – teams around us.

“But we’ve also got some good teams. But we’ve showed today that when we are playing at our best we can hold our own and we can play at a level to match these sides.”

They certainly have managed that in recent weeks, with just one defeat in their last seven games.

And skipper Matty Upson believes that it is the improving performances that will keep the positive results coming in the tests they still have to come.

“At the moment we are on a good run and I think whatever game gets thrown at us, we’ll go out there and give it a good performance,” said the central defender.

“I think we need to stop worrying about results, though obviously that is important, but the performance will dictate the result.

“If we keep focusing on supporting each other and working hard for each other, keep the spirit high, I think the results will take care of themselves.”

Leaders Manchester United are West Ham’s next opponents and Upson, who scored the winner in the last league win over United back in 2007, sees no reason why they cannot do it again.

“We are on our home patch. We will raise the tempo of the game, be as physical as we can and try and take some points from them.”

We shall see.