Slaven Bilic delighted with West Ham's spirited comeback against Tottenham: 'You see the team is very alive and we are very stubborn in a positive way'

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Slaven Bilic on Wednesday night said his West Ham players proved they are 'alive' and willing to fight for him after staging a miraculous second-half comeback at Wembley Stadium.

Tottenham were leading 2-0 at half time in their Carabao Cup tie but two goals from Andre Ayew then a third from Angelo Ogbonna sent the visitors into the quarter-finals.

All three were scored in the space of 15 minutes and it gives West Ham a much-needed confidence boost ahead of their trip to Premier League bottom club Crystal Palace on Saturday.

West Ham produced a spirited performance to come from two behind to beat Tottenham 3-2

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan was in attendance at Wembley and Bilic said afterwards: ‘We reacted in the most brilliant way.

‘To score three goals against them, who do not concede goals, then be brave and compact and good on the ball, we deserved it and it is a big boost for us.

‘We won the game. They did not give us the game. I told the guys on Tuesday that we showed in training we were full of energy. We could not wait for the game to start.’

Moussa Sissoko and Dele Alli scored Tottenham’s goals in the first half as it looked like more bad news for Bilic following their 3-0 defeat by Brighton on Friday.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic said his side 'reacted in the most brilliant way' on Wednesday 

On his half-time team-talk, Bilic added: ‘The first half was not very bad. The result was very, very bad for us but I thought we looked good.

‘At half time I told them there were some good things.

‘You see the team is very alive and we are very stubborn in a positive way. There is no time and place to go large now. We have done a lot, but considering the season, we have done nothing.’

Asked if he actually believed they could get back into it, captain Mark Noble confessed: ‘In all honesty, no.

Hammers captain Mark Noble says he didn't believe West Ham could get back into the game

‘Do I believe in this team? Yes. Do I believe in these players? Yes, but 2-0 down here against a fantastic Spurs side is a massive, massive mountain to climb.

‘We have not been doing ourselves justice. We are accountable for performances and tonight in the second half… I said we needed to wear the shirt with pride and we did that.’

Two-goal hero Ayew added: ‘We were down but the coach had the words. I want to congratulate the whole team, it's a massive win.’

Tottenham play Manchester United away on Saturday. Mauricio Pochettino said: ‘It’s difficult to explain, difficult to analyse. That can happen in football. We are so disappointed.’

The draw for the quarter-finals takes place today in London at 4pm.