There was no mistaking Glenn Roeder's relief after his West Ham side finally won a home game this season.

There had been 12 failures at Upton Park since Ian Pearce's last-minute header earned a 2-1 win over Bolton on the final day of the 2001-2 campaign.

And while Saturday's 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest does nothing to ease the club's desperate league position, it certainly eases the pressure on the struggling Hammers.

"This is a huge lift for everybody at the club," said Roeder. "It would be easy to say it's a big boost for me, but I would rather share it because it has been really hard for everyone, right down to the tea lady.

"When you work for a football club it takes over your life."

Captain Joe Cole, who now looks set to retain the armband even when club captain Steve Lomas returns, was singled out for particular acclaim after an eye-catching and effective display in the centre of midfield.

"At the moment he will stay as captain, and Steve Lomas has supported that," said Roeder. "I'm not expecting him to be pulling players around and telling them exactly what to do -- I don't think even David Beckham does that. Instead he leads by example.

"He's a local lad, he's come through our academy and he represents everything we want to achieve at this club."

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