Tuesday 27 December 2016 14:02, UK
Slaven Bilic has backed Andre Ayew to rediscover his very best form after the forward scored his first goal for West Ham against former club Swansea on Boxing Day.
The 27-year-old joined the Hammers from Swansea in the summer for a club record £20.5m fee, but was ruled out for two months in August after suffering a thigh injury on his debut away at Chelsea.
Ayew, who scored 12 goals last season during his debut campaign in England, set West Ham on their way to a 4-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium when he pounced on a fumble from Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
"It was hard for him because for West Ham it is a massive price tag and then he got a very bad injury straight away," said Bilic.
"But he kept working and he's now in a really good position to be the Ayew from last season and from Marseille.
"To me it's his performance but, of course, for any striker nothing boosts their confidence like scoring goals.
"If you had asked before the game who I would love to score for the future, then I would say Andre definitely.
"Not because it was against Swansea, but what we expect from him in the future - and what he expects."
West Ham moved up to 11th place following their third successive Premier League victory, with Winston Reid, Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll also on target.
They travel to defending champions Leicester on New Year's Eve before hosting Manchester United on January 2, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 5pm.
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