SPEAKING at the weekend, David Moyes revealed he was considering taking his players to the Lake District during the forthcoming international break in an attempt to improve morale.

But no amount of rowing or mountain biking could match the confidence boost provided at Upton Park yesterday.

A run of seven games without a victory was brought to an end to ensure the Goodison outfit can head for their brief retreat looking up the table rather than over their shoulders.

The jubilation among the massed ranks of the travelling support was no doubt tinged with relief given the trails and tribulations of recent weeks.

A period of seven games in 23 days was always going to stretch Everton’s resources given the injury crisis that has gripped the squad this year.

Few, though, could have expected the trauma that was to follow. So how this victory was needed.

Yet history suggests it should have been expected. West Ham United have proven welcome opposition for Everton in the Premier League era, with the Londoners now beaten more times – 16 – than any other team.

Indeed, it was at Upton Park precisely a year earlier that Moyes’s side helped kick-start their campaign with three goals in the final seven minutes to turn imminent defeat into an unlikely and significant victory. The Goodison manager will hope for the same reaction to this hard-earned result.

Yes, Everton were on the backfoot for much of the game, but they demonstrated a ruthlessness of old to forge into a deserving two-goal lead through Louis Saha and Dan Gosling.

And the defence regained a semblance of former solidity after Tony Hibbert’s comedy own goal prompted a desperate onslaught from West Ham during the final quarter.

It was unfortunate for Hibbert who, along with centre-backs Sylvain Distin and Joseph Yobo, was among Everton’s stellar performers.

Moyes has spoken of putting his head above the parapet in the face of the club’s ongoing injury crisis, and that he thrives on finding a winning formula with whatever his resources.

He did so yesterday, if only just. Quality, particularly going forward, remains missing from Everton’s overall play, but while Gianfranco Zola claimed his team deserved at least a point for their rousing finale, the fact is Tim Howard had relatively few saves of note to make.

Necessity rather than design may have pressed Moyes into tactical tweaks, but the decision to pair John Heitinga with Jack Rodwell in a defensive central midfield is proving fruitful.

Having posted an encouraging display last weekend, Heitinga was again impressive yesterday in adding steel to the middle of the park and helping provide a protective shield in front of the back four.

Given Saha netted four times against the Hammers last season, there was a sense of the inevitable to his 27th-minute opener, even if Moyes later admitted that the striker should not have even been playing because of the calf strain that forced him to miss Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Benfica.

It was a well-taken goal, too, Saha found by Tim Cahill’s lay-off on the edge of the West Ham penalty area before unleashing a first-time left-foot shot low into the bottom corner. Robert Green didn’t even move.

That was Everton’s first attack of note having been pushed back by a home side energised by a dramatic 2-1 win over Aston Villa in midweek that moved them, at least temporarily, out of the relegation zone.

But unlike their visitors, West Ham demonstrated a distinct lack of killer instinct that was epitomised by the performance of Zavon Hines.