Can new signings help keep West Ham in the Premier League?

West Ham have completed the signing of Tottenham striker Robbie Keane on-loan for the rest of the season.

The 30 year-old should prove to be a decent signing as the Hammers look to drag themselves out of the relegation zone.

Signings

Keane will be joined at the Boleyn Ground by Senegalese striker Demba Ba and midfielder Gary O’Neill. Ba joined the club after failing a medical at Premier League rivals Stoke City.

The deal was initially set to be a loan move but he has in fact joined for a fee in the region of £6million, depending on appearances from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim.

Gary O’Neill has been brought in from Championship Middlesbrough for an undisclosed fee. He will give Hammers boss Avram Grant an extra body in the midfield area.

Short

Grant at times this season has found himself short of players and these signings will give the Israeli some extra options. His side have had some injury problems but also started the season with a relatively small squad of senior players.

Improvement

West Ham should be encouraged by their latest Premier League outing at Everton. They showed a never say die attitude and almost claimed three vital points, only an injury-time equaliser denied them maximum points.

Bottom

West Ham are currently bottom of the Premier League but their recent performances at Goodison Park and their first half display at Birmingham in the Carling Cup have shown what they are capable of.

The Premier League is also very tight and a few wins could take them away from the danger zone. West Ham are by no means cut adrift at the bottle of the table.

Crucial

West Ham have two crucial games coming up in the next week. Firstly they head to Blackpool on Wednesday night and then host relegation rivals Birmingham City next Sunday. These games could be pivotal for the rest of the season for Grant’s side.

Morale

The three recent signings will give the club a boost. I recently wrote an article about Robbie Keane still being good enough for the Premier League and I stand by that. He has great movement and a good scoring record.

He may be slightly rusty from not playing regularly for Tottenham but once he gets a few games under his belt he could be a key signing. He may be 30 years old but his game was always based on his good footballing brain.

West Ham needs a clever striker to compliment the strength and height of Carlton Cole. Demba Ba is a different sort of player completely. His game is based more on pace and power.

He has a decent scoring record with Hoffenheim scoring 40 goals in 100 appearances for the German side. The 25 year-old is already predicting that he will save the club from relegation. He will be hoping that he does manage to help the club survive relegation or he may be reunited with former club Watford in the Championship.

O’Neil is a hard working midfielder who always gives 100 per cent. The sort of player you need in a relegation battle. He is not the most technically gifted of players but was highly-rated in his teens and made nine appearances for England Under-21’s.

Better

I have to admit that the signing of these three players and left-back Wayne Bridge earlier this month has made West Ham’s squad far stronger than it was at the start of the season. The signings certainly have gave West Ham a better chance of survival but the question is will they be enough to keep them in the Premier League?