Downes was appointed defensive coach following the departure of Avram Grant's assistant Zeljko Petrovic and the Hammers have gone on to beat Wigan and Manchester United in their last two matches. They looked more solid at the back in seeing off the Latics 3-1 and then kept a clean sheet in Tuesday's 4-0 Carling Cup victory over Manchester United. Downes had identified some problems whilst watching the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool before his role had even been confirmed and admits he was able to implement some key changes quite quickly. "Initially, Avram asked me to have a look at a few of the goals that have gone in recently and where it could have been different," he said in the Daily Mirror. "Basically, it is easier to tighten up a defence than it is to instil attacking philosophies into the players. You can make a short, sharp difference with some structural stuff with defenders - give them a bit of attitude and aggression. "I went up to Liverpool and although it was a bad performance, it in no way reflected the way the team has been playing. "The amount of games where the team has been in front and could have won, there is obviously a disappointment that builds up and that culminated in the Liverpool performance, but that has come and gone now. "It was a great time to wipe the slate clean - it's about aggression and a will to win, it's about the players and making sure they are on the front foot." Jonathan Spector and Carlton Cole, who both scored twice in the shock win against Manchester United, have also paid tribute to the impact of Downes. Spector said: "Wally has made a big difference. Although I've been switched to midfield and haven't been a beneficiary of all the work he's been doing with our defence, all the players seem to like him and they are responding to him." Cole added: "Wally is an excellent coach - defensively he's got us playing as a unit, and we needed that. "This could definitely be a turning point for us. Everyone was saying the Wigan game was a 'save-our-season' match, and now we have beaten Manchester United three days later. We've got to build on this and make progress."
