THE superstitious had a field day with this one writes Neil Bonnar

What with Sam's lucky underpants and the bottom club at Christmas theory there were plenty of omens to muse over.

Not least the musical selection of 'It'll Be Lonely This Christmas' which greeted Glenn Roeder and his West Ham players at the end of 90 gripping minutes which left the sides with the same points but contrasting emotions.

Wanderers fully deserved the smile they put on their faces with an ever improving performance which left them off the notorious Christmas bottom spot and looking forward with renewed optimism to festive fixtures against Newcastle, Everton and Aston Villa.

The joy of Christmas was the last thing on West Ham's mind as they must prepare to attempt to become the first team in the 10-year history of the Premiership to avoid the drop after being bottom on Christmas Day.

"Christmas, what's that," said Roeder with a rueful smile. "I've no time to think about Christmas. What day is it anyway?"

It'll certainly be lonely this Christmas for Roeder as he wracks his brains for ways to win friends and influence his team.

Wanderers have big problems of their own still to overcome but the feelgood effect of this hugely encouraging effort will help them on their way.

It was a draw but it felt like a win, not least because of the collective joy experienced and expressed by the entire Wanderers camp and sell-out travelling support after seeing Michael Ricketts finally get his first open play goal for 11 frustrating months.

It is still just one win in 14 Premiership games and nine points from a possible 42 but it was another fine performance to go with three of the previous five against Blackburn, Chelsea and Leeds away.

Wanderers are showing with regularity that they have sufficient quality to stay in the Premiership.

As long as the performance is good they always have a chance of pulling away but what they need is a win or two to go with those good performances.

That is where Ricketts comes in. Wanderers have missed his goals more than anything else this season and although he was only on the Upton Park field for 37 minutes he left the lasting impression that he is the man to lead Wanderers to safety from the front.

His goal was sheer class. Despite Roeder's claims to the contrary, Ricketts timed his run to absolute perfection to latch on to Jay Jay Okocha's inspired hook over the defence, expertly bring the ball under control and flick it over David James.

The goal lit a spark inside Ricketts which fired him into the kind of life which earned him an England call-up and caused the West Ham defence all manner of problems.

His pace and power were back, his movement and runs into dangerous positions were quality and his workrate was a big help to the team. With better supply he could have added to his tally.

He won the point but the team built the foundation for success with resolute defending and bags of character after a difficult opening half hour which West Ham dominated while Wanderers found their feet with a more attacking system.

They coped with big pressure in that spell and Ian Pearce's 17th minute goal was a fair reflection of the balance of play.

The pendulum of pressure began to swing when Henrik Pedersen turned brilliantly and struck a post and Wanderers grew in confidence and composure with Jay Jay Okocha going close with a deflected shot and David James coming to the rescue twice.

If the first half was a nervous experience the second was comfortable apart from two late scares when Wanderers survived a penalty appeal when Joe Cole went to ground during a jinking run and an unmarked Trevor Sinclair headed wide from six yards.

Mike Whitlow's introduction at half time solidified the defence. His steadying and combative influence rubbed off on the rest of the defence.

His timely interventions and constant gesturing and cajoling had a big influence on the back line in which Gudni Bergsson worked in perfect tandem alongside him and Anthony Barness and Simon Charlton closed the door on the flanks.

The four looked so comfortable together and their determination to win tackles and clear danger set Wanderers up for a bright second half.

The turning point was the introduction of Ricketts. Pedersen had one of his better and more consistently effective games as the lone striker but Ricketts took it on to a different level.

Pedersen switched to the left with continued productivity as Wanderers went from strength to strength.

One criticism was the lack of a quality final ball which could have won the game because Wanderers had plenty of possession in and around the danger area and Ricketts was champing at the bit to add to his tally.

Ricketts had plenty of rivals for the man of the match award, particularly from Whitlow, Per Frandsen and Jay Jay Okocha who oozed class with every touch.

With Youri Djorkaeff restricted by a rib injury which required a pre-match injection and forced him off after 55 minutes, all eyes were on Okocha to shoulder the creative responsibility. And he did not disappoint.

He had Hammers defenders chasing shadows with his mesmeric skill and ability to go past defenders as if they were not there.

For a man who found the pace of the Premiership tough he now looks stronger and fitter than anybody. The longer the game went on the stronger and quicker he became and could have won it with a classic goal right at the death when he out-muscled two defenders and scorched past three before seeing his shot charged down.

Frandsen was a class act in every facet of the midfield job and Kevin Nolan and Ricardo Gardner got through a mountain of unspectacular but vital work.

Wanderers are determined to make life difficult for their relegation rivals and with this kind of team spirit and resilience they will do it.

"This was a psychologically important result for us," skipper Gudni Bergsson said. "Now we have to build on it.

"But we are all in it together."