JONATHAN Spector hopes a positive result at Everton on Saturday can act as the catalyst for a run that will see West Ham escape the drop; in a similar way that last season’s late goal that secured a point at Goodison Park did for Gianfranco Zola and his men.

Ilan headed home a Julien Faubert cross with just three minutes to spare to cancel out Yakubu’s strike two minutes earlier, rescuing a draw for the Hammers.

The team went on to take seven points from their remaining three home games that helped steer them away from the relegation zone.

And Spector is hopeful that a victory on Saturday will trigger a surge up the table that will put their relegation worries behind them.

“We’ve had some good results and points where it looked like it was going to turn our season around,” said the American. “Hopefully this game (against Everton) can be the same as last season and be the catalyst we need to push on and climb up the table.

“We need to go up there and get a result. A point is OK but we’ll be going up there looking for a win, that’s what our focus will be on.”

West Ham took on the Toffees at Upton Park in the last game of 2010 and arguably had the better of a 1-1 draw, in which Seamus Coleman’s back-post strike cancelled out an own goal from Tony Hibbert.

Since that result West Ham have made it through to the fourth round of the FA Cup and have one foot in the Carling Cup final at Wembley, with a 2-1 advantage over Birmingham City from the first leg of the semi-final at Upton Park.

The Hammers have also defeated relegation rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in a game that was dubbed the biggest of the club’s season.

However, speculation has continued to swirl over the Boleyn Ground about the future of manager Avram Grant.

Former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill was reportedly poised to take over the helm, but the club this week released a statement backing their manager and claiming funds would be made available for the pursuit of players in the January transfer window.

Spector insisted the players were turning a blind eye to the rumours and were merely concentrating on matters on the pitch.

“We have no control over it so there’s no points in thinking about it or considering it,” the midfielder said of the speculation.

“There’s nothing we can do about that. Whatever happens, happens. It’s our job to take care of business on the pitch.”