West Ham striker Andy Carroll has praised the team spirit shown by the players in the wake of the Dimitri Payet controversy.
The Hammers were rocked when star man Payet said he wanted to leave the club earlier this month and manager Slaven Bilic said the club were not asking for "anything crazy" as they look to resolve his future.
But they have won successive games in the Premier League without him and Carroll, who struck twice in a 3-1 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday, told the club's official website: "I think the lads have come together even stronger recently with everything that's going on.
"You can see on the pitch everyone is working together, putting the graft in, and that's when the points come. The morale in the dressing room is fantastic. It's great to be around.
"Things were tough at the beginning of the season, but we came out of that and we're just thinking about each game as it comes.''
Carroll opened the scoring with a ninth-minute header from Manuel Lanzini's corner and struck again from close range.
He later came off with a groin problem but said his premature departure had only been precautionary.
"My groin was a little bit tight so we didn't want to risk anything," he added. "I didn't train all week and I was a little bit stiff, so maybe that's one of the reasons why it's a bit tight.
"But I'm all good and looking forward to the next game. I feel good. I'm working hard and hopefully a lot more goals will come.''