Sam Allardyce reacts to the win over Millwall (Picture by Steve Bacon)

“During West Ham’s last successful promotion campaign, we were beaten 4-1 by a Cardiff City team who would finish the season in a similar position to that which Ipswich currently find themselves in.”

There are few better reactions to your worst result of the season than beating your bitterest rivals in a league match for the first time in over 20 years.

Sam Allardyce’s claim that this was the best win of his managerial career may seem exaggerated, but anyone who attended Saturday’s 2-1 win over Millwall will struggle to begrudge Big Sam this hyperbole.

It may seem easy to say so in the midst of such euphoria, but the 5-1 defeat to Ipswich Town looks increasingly like a freakish result, rather than the start of a downward spiral.

During West Ham’s last successful promotion campaign, we were beaten 4-1 by a Cardiff City team who would finish the season in a similar position to that which Ipswich currently find themselves in.

In a season comprising 46 league games, the law of averages suggests that you will be on the end of a hiding at some point.

The reaction of some fans was instead to claim that this was a result that had been coming for some time. Seven goals conceded in the previous seven games suggests otherwise.

In fact, so anomalous was the scoreline (Ipswich had failed to win in their previous seven matches) that the game almost seems undeserving of serious analysis.

Two consecutive one-nil defeats would have been infinitely more concerning.

The disappointment of defeat was cushioned by the news that the club had completed three major signings: Nicky Maynard from Bristol City, Ricardo Vaz Te from Barnsley and Ravel Morrison from Manchester United.

Maynard, who was close to moving to Premier League Wigan Athletic, looks like the player most likely to have an instant impact.

However, how he fits in to a 4-5-1 which Carlton Cole has led successfully for most of the season is a moot point. Vaz Te’s form this season cannot be disputed, but his career as a whole - including a seven-year spell at Bolton which generated just three goals - can at best be described as inconsistent.

The signing that raised most eyebrows was that of Morrison.

The reaction of many, myself included, was to question whether London was the ideal location for a young man looking to avoid temptation and troublemakers.

However, in light of Allardyce’s close relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, it seems unlikely that we have been sold a lost cause. Time will tell.

Fans hoping to see the new faces in action were disappointed to see a team not too dissimilar from that hammered at Portman Road, line up against Millwall.

News of the season’s best performer James Tomkins being moved to an unfamiliar midfield position caused further consternation amongst fans arriving into E13.

But who were we to question Big Sam.

Victory was undoubtedly sweeter for the fact that it was secured with just ten men. The tackle which led to Kevin Nolan being sent off in the ninth minute did not look pretty the first time.

Watching it again on TV, it was no less ugly and not wholly out of character for a player whose petulance sees him continually in the referee’s ear.

Sometimes the tribalism of football supporters means a red-carded player receives a standing ovation as he leaves the pitch. There was no such reception for Nolan.

Fortunately, our captain’s aggression was not replicated off the pitch. A military-style operation from the police was little fun for West Ham fans shut out of Upton Park tube station in freezing conditions for over an hour after the game, but it was arguably justified by the absence of any trouble.

Even by West Ham’s standards, this was a particularly eventful week. With matches against promotion rivals Southampton, Blackpool and Cardiff all to come over the next four weeks, here’s hoping that matters on the pitch are all that concern us from here on in.