It's been a difficult season at the London Stadium, started by shock elimination in the Europa League's qualifying stages, continued with worrying form in the Premier League and maintained throughout the January transfer window via Dimitri Payet's shock push for a move back to Marseille.

But a newfound team spirit amongst the West Ham squad has risen like a phoenix from the fires of Payet's bridge-burning departure and the Irons are now in a respectable tenth place, twelve points clear of the relegation zone.

Indeed, playing as a team rather than working towards the admittedly sensational ability of one individual has been one of the driving forces behind the Hammers' mid-season revival, but it does beg the question of who West Ham's most important player actually is now.

We posed that exact query to Hammers readers earlier this week in FootballFanCast's exclusive poll and we were surprised to discover club top scorer Michail Antonio and captain Mark Noble both missed out on a place in the top three.

So, without further ado, here's a look at the THREE most important players at Bilic's disposal, as voted for by the West Ham fans...

3. Andy Carroll

In all honesty, we're surprised Andy Carroll didn't claim top spot in this poll. West Ham have struggled for a dependable supply of goals all season, with summer striker signings Simone Zaza, Jonathan Calleri, Andre Ayew and Ashley Fletcher providing just two top flight strikes between them, whereas the England international bagged four in four before his recent injury setback. Perhaps more tellingly, West Ham's win rate with Carroll in the starting XI this term is 58%; without him, it's just 24%.

2. Cheikhou Kouyate

Cheikhou Kouyate's probably not reached the heights of his first two seasons at West Ham, perhaps due to the fact he's been jostled around the midfield and the back four. But wherever he's fielded, Hammers fans view the Congo enforcer as an integral asset to their side, providing the physicality, athleticism and aggression that's so crucial in the Premier League nowadays. Yet, there is still one notable difference in Kouyate's contributions this season; far from his five top-flight strikes last term, and four the year previous, he's yet to get off the mark in the Premier League.

1. Manuel Lanzini

In the post-Payet era, Manuel Lanzini is undoubtedly West Ham's most natural creative threat. Indeed, he's become the Frenchman's successor at the tip of midfield and the predominant source of the Hammers' inspiration in the final third, which is perhaps why Irons supporters value him so highly at the moment - without him, there really isn't much magic to break through opposition defences. The Argentine hasn't quite risen to the challenge just yet, but he did score a fabulous goal against West Brom on Saturday.