West Ham United pulled off eye-catching coups in the transfer market when they signed Joe Hart on loan from Manchester City and Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, before they added Euro 2016 winner Joao Mario to their squad on loan from Inter Milan during the January transfer window.

They are the sort of players that should take the east London outfit to the next level on paper, and while all three have shown the qualities that they have at times this season, none of them have done it on a consistent basis as required.

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Having added the trio – along with Marko Arnautovic and Pablo Zabaleta among others – to their squad, the Irons would have been confident of securing a top-half finish.

However, they currently find themselves six points above the Premier League relegation zone with four fixtures of the campaign remaining, and they certainly aren't safe from relegation just yet.

The West Ham hierarchy will feel that they need big-name players like Hernandez, Hart, Joao Mario and Patrice Evra to achieve their ambitions and keep the fans on side, but there is also a danger to bringing in individuals like that as well – just ask Southampton and Stoke City.

The red-and-white stripes clubs finished eighth and 13th respectively last term – although just two points separated them – but they are both in real danger of dropping down into the Championship this term.

Saints have brought in the likes of Sofiane Boufal, Mario Lemina and Manolo Gabbiadini over the course of the last two seasons, and while they are clearly talented individuals, they have often gone missing when their team has needed them the most this season.

In fact, The Sun has reported that Boufal has been banished to train alone having refused a request to warm up when he was on the substitutes' bench for the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea at St Mary's earlier this month.

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Stoke are in a similar situation with Xherdan Shaqiri, Ibrahim Afellay and Jese Rodriguez, and while the former has been a regular in the side, Afellay was told to stay away from the club by manager Paul Lambert last month, while Rodriguez is set to see his disappointing loan spell from Paris Saint-Germain brought to an end early after he missed two weeks of training with no explanation.

That shows the problems these teams who were comfortably in mid-table before have encountered this term, and bringing in too many big-name players to their club has seemingly upset the harmony in the squad and the dressing room, and they have both lost the identity that was once admired by other sides.

West Ham must make sure that the same doesn't happen to them, and if they do survive this season they need players that are ready to fight for the shirt during the next campaign.

West Ham midfielder Joao Mario looks on during defeat against Liverpool

Are Hernandez and Joao Mario – whom fans on Twitter have been debating the future of – really going to do that, or are they going to go missing when their team is struggling and needs them to step up?

You would probably point to the latter based on this season, and their achievements in their career mean they are more likely to cause issues when they don't make the starting XI. You could even throw someone like Manuel Lanzini into the same pot given that he seems to be at his best when the team is doing well.

In Arnautovic they do have someone that shows he cares for the club and the fans, and it's certainly fine to have one or two talented players with that mentality, backed up by others that want to do the best for West Ham.

David Moyes gives his players instructions

That probably hasn't been the case on far too many occasions this term, and it is one of the things that manager David Moyes needs to put right.

While some Irons supporters may turn their noses up at links to the likes of Joe Allen or Harry Arter, they are players that would give their all for the team and help the east London outfit start to get back the identity that the fans believe they are losing – or have already lost – in recent years following their move to the London Stadium.

You only have to take a look at how well Burnley, Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion have done this season to see that West Ham don't need those big-name players to enjoy success in the Premier League, and it is those models they should look to replicate going forward.