West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has admitted that his side are not one of the Premier League's big hitters, despite their strong start to the season.
The Hammers sit third in the table following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Norwich City at Upton Park.
Bilic's side have picked up notable away wins at Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool so far this season, and the Croatian feels that the more competitive nature of the Premier League has made results like those possible.
"We would love to be big guns, but let's be fair, nobody said we are big guns before the season started," Bilic told the West Ham's official website. "Because of the away wins, they are putting us there, but we are not the big guns. No, we have some really great players, but we have to work our socks off every single game.
"(Jose) Mourinho said it best, it is not a new world order, but this kind of money, the financial injection to smaller clubs in the Premier League has raised the quality of the teams. Every team has it now.
"Before, in the Premier League, all the teams had energy. Now you have quality, now it's difficult for the big guns. Every team is good enough."
West Ham travel to Sunderland on Saturday.
Steven Toplis
