WHAT a difference a month makes. At the end of October, Newcastle United still had the feel of a club in crisis. Rooted in the relegation zone, still searching for a first win of the season, things were as bad on the pitch as they were off it. Protests and poor performances made for an unappealing mix.

Fast forward four weeks, though, and much has changed. Monday’s success at Burnley made it three wins in a row, with tomorrow’s home game with West Ham United offering an opportunity to climb to within three points of the top half of the table.

There is still talk of protest, with a large number of supporters deeply unhappy at Mike Ashley’s continued ownership of the club, but the mutinous mood that was brewing a month-or-so ago has largely disappeared.

Within the squad, there has been a return of the focus and spirit that carried Newcastle to tenth position last season, and with a run of inviting fixtures between now and Christmas, the Magpies can once again claim to be a team on the up.

“We were just waiting for that first victory,” said goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, whose fine form between the sticks has been a key factor in the three-game winning run. “We knew that it was a tough fixture list, and we really need the first victory.

“Now, everything is going in the right way. We know that we have to keep fighting for victories, and we fought for everything (against Burnley). We appreciated the three points in the end, and as a player, it’s a nice feeling to have three wins in a row.”

The challenge tomorrow is to extend the winning sequence to four, with Newcastle taking on a West Ham that shipped four goals at home to Manchester City in their last outing.

The Hammers have been a model of inconsistency this season, losing at home to Bournemouth and Wolves but winning at Everton, but Dubravka claims Newcastle have at been at their most successful over the last 18 months when they have been able to stamp their own approach and style on their opponents.

On Monday, the Magpies were not drawn into Burnley’s long-ball style, and their determination to stick to their counter-attacking principles paid dividends. They will have to adapt their tactics slightly tomorrow given that they are playing at home, but Dubravka feels it will still be important not to get too caught up in whatever West Ham are doing.

“We always want to approach the game in our way,” said the Slovakian. “We don’t want to just play how the opposition want to play, and I think, from the beginning (of the Burnley game), you could see how we kept the ball.

“We tried to create some spaces for the wingers and make some crosses. We tried to score. We needed goals - we knew that. We worked hard in training on that, and I’m really happy that we scored two very nice goals.”

Benitez will be hoping Paul Dummett is available for tomorrow’s game, and the full-back posted an injury update on social media yesterday in which he claimed he was “edging closer” to full fitness.

Jamaal Lascelles is also closing in on a return, although the Magpies skipper remains a major doubt for the game with West Ham.

The Hammers have received some positive injury news in the last 24 hours as Marko Arnautovic has been passed fit. Arnautovic sustained a hip injury in last weekend’s defeat to Manchester City.

“Marko has worked the whole week without any problem,” said Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini. “We gave him an extra day to recover from the game on Saturday, but he is okay.”

Former Newcastle striker Andy Carroll and ex-Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere are also expected to be in tomorrow’s squad.