There has been scant reward for the efforts of Manuel Lanzini in recent weeks.

With three goals in his last five matches, the diminutive Argentine has hit a purple patch in front of goal and is showing the sort of qualities to concern most Premier League defenders.

Unfortunately for United’s number ten, his upturn has coincided with a trying spell for the London Stadium club, in which they have failed to win any of their last five games.

Lanzini believes West Ham have been unfortunate not to take more from their recent outings and is, therefore, keen to rediscover a winning habit.

“It is true we didn’t play well at Bournemouth in our last away game when things didn’t really come off for us, despite the fact we knew they would press us very high,” Lanzini said.

“If you look at the games before that, we played well against West Brom and Watford, particularly in the second half of those games, so I think we have been improving overall.

“Conceding in the last minute is always a blow and, as a team, we can always work harder to stop that happening and improve.”

Lanzini’s move to the fore of West Ham’s attacking efforts has been aided by the departure of one-time Hammers talisman Dimitri Payet.

The Frenchman’s return to Marseille has seen Lanzini take up a more central role and the 24-year-old has thrived on the greater attacking responsibility.

A slow start to the season, due partly to his energy sapping involvement with the national side at the 2016 Olympics, led to a slow start to the campaign.

Having come through that testing period, Lanzini is now enjoying his role as United’s chief creator and is revelling in the belief shown in him by Irons boss Slaven Bilic.

“Halfway through the season things started picking up for me within the team. I’m now fit and the coach has shown faith in me, as have my team mates,” he said.

“I feel like I am an important player here and that’s just what I needed in order to be able to show what I am capable of on the pitch.

“I am not feeling the pressure and I’m very comfortable with how things are going at the moment.”