West Ham boss Slaven Bilic feels side are starting to click into gear after overcoming off-field problems

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Slaven Bilic believes his West Ham side are finally playing at their full potential, with the on and off-field problems of the early season well and truly behind them.

The Hammers manager was satisfied after his team rallied after half-time to earn a point at Watford thanks to Andre Ayew's goal and move up to ninth in the table.

Having fallen behind to Troy Deeney's third-minute penalty, West Ham dominated the second-half and it was their intensity that most pleased the manager.

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic feels things are looking up for his side after the draw at Watford

The Hammers are hoping to record a top-half finish in their first season at the London Stadium

He said: 'We didn't start too good but in the second-half they put everything in and we deserved it.

'We are a proper team now. We are good physically, we are good mentally, we are good on the ball, we are good in transition. That's why there is always a belief.'

Some of West Ham's most accomplished performances of late have come away from home and Bilic suggested his team sometimes thrive away from the high pressure to perform for the London Stadium crowd.

He said: 'Sometimes when you play away, you are not that nervous that you have to hit the post or score in the first 10-15 minutes.

Bilic looks to issue instructions to his players in the second half at Vicarage Road on Saturday

'You have to win a throw-in, build and have that patience [away from home]. But with the confidence, the opportunity comes. It is also to do with the new stadium and everything.

'That is my hope for the season, next year is going to be new for us. If we maintain this away form, it sounds good.'

The early part of West Ham's season was overshadowed by teething problems at their new home, a lengthy injury list and the nuisance of starting pre-season early to compete in the Europa League.

It was a case of wake me up when September ends for Bilic as they lost to Watford, West Bromwich Albion and Southampton in quick succession to leave them in the relegation zone.

The Hammers have moved on from a difficult period at the start of the campaign off the field

But their problems have slowly been resolved and the results are now starting to come. Bilic is confident that with a distraction-free pre-season this summer, West Ham will be even higher in the table next season.

He said: 'We didn't expect the start that we had - September killed us - but we always had the solution, an option if something goes wrong.

'There were no turning points but we never stopped believing.'

They suffered an early setback at Vicarage Road when Cheikhou Kouyate clumsily barged Mauro Zarate in the area and Deeney converted for his eighth goal of the season.

West Ham struggled to make any impact before the break but were a different proposition in the second-half, equalising through Ayew's tap-in after Michail Antonio's shot hit both posts and came out.

Antonio was then shown a second yellow for handball, ruling him out of next Monday's home match with Chelsea that will truly test West Ham's progress.

West Ham captain Mark Noble would happily take finishing in the top eight this season

Captain Mark Noble said: 'After the start we had, and all the stuff off the pitch – moving to a new stadium and a new training ground, the situation with Dimi Payet – I would eat your microphone to finish in the top seven or eight.

'We've beaten Chelsea once already this season and although they have won again today and they are absolutely flying, it's a London derby under the lights and I hope we can generate another really good atmosphere and a strong performance.

'Maybe we didn't enough credit for knocking Chelsea out of the League Cup because, for a time, whenever we won at home, it was overshadowed by crowd trouble, the atmosphere or people moaning.'

Watford, who host Southampton on Saturday, are set to be without Mauro Zarate for the rest of the season after the Argentine suffered what looked to be a serious knee injury at the end of the first-half.