Why Sheffield United are set to face a more 'professional' West Ham side

That’s the view of midfielder Robert Snodgrass after the Hammers recorded back-to-back wins against Bournemouth and Gillingham under new boss David Moyes.

Moyes has made an instant impact at the London Stadium after replacing Manuel Pellegrini during the festive period and former Scottish international Snodgrass believes the club has turned a corner following its slide down the Premier League under the Chilean.

“We were losing games through basic errors, but then against Gillingham (on Sunday) the lads put in a great professional performance against a team that made it very difficult with long throws and kicking the ball in behind,” said Snodgrass, speaking to the Daily Express.

“We have got off to a great start and we don’t have to focus on any negatives. That is behind us now. It is 2020 – two games, two wins – let’s keep going forward.”

His comments were echoed by team-mate Declan Rice following the gritty FA Cup win at Gillingham.

“It was a professional ­performance,” said Rice. “We looked at them before the game and we knew what they would throw at us.

“The old West Ham may have lost. We have some bumps and bruises but we are into the next round.”

And after booking their place in the fourth round, West Ham will now be setting their sights on moving away from the drop zone when they take on Chris Wilder’s Blades side later this week.

They sit just two points above the bottom three but will travel to Bramall Lane for the Sky Sports clash without the services of right-back Ryan Fredericks, who has been ruled out for a month with a hamstring injury.

He picked up the injury in the Gillingham win and had a scan on Monday which confirmed muscle damage.

The two sides drew 1-1 at the London Stadium in October, with Lys Mousset netting for the Blades after Snodgrass had given the home side a first half lead.