West Ham United haven’t had the greatest first half to the season, but things are certainly looking up after some good results before Christmas.

Slaven Bilic’s side won just one of their opening seven league matches, and seemed to struggle to adapt to the London Stadium, their new home as of the summer.

However, back-to-back 1-0 wins over Crystal Palace and Sunderland got the Hammers on track, although they still needed victories over Burnley and Hull in the fortnight leading up to Christmas to move them away from the relegation mire.

Bilic’s men have won five of their opening 17 league games, and face trips to Swansea and Leicester before the New Year in a bid to improve upon their current position of 13th in the table.

They are five points clear of danger and, although the performances have still been criticised by many over the last few weeks, they are picking up points, which cannot be said of the sides nearer the bottom of the division.

And, with Christmas on the horizon, we thought we’d take a look back and review West Ham’s season thus far, and evaluate which players have performed well, and which ones need to improve in 2017.

Thus, here are the players on the Hammers’ naughty and nice lists this Christmas…

NICE – Michail Antonio

Arguably West Ham’s player of the season so far, Michail Antonio has enjoyed an excellent first half of the campaign.

However, it wasn’t without a shaky start, where the former Nottingham Forest man struggled against Chelsea on the opening day when he conceded a penalty from which Eden Hazard gave Antonio Conte’s side the lead.

Nonetheless, Bilic played him further forward in subsequent games, and has since then been a revelation with seven Premier League goals this season, the latest of which coming in their 2-2 draw at Liverpool on December 11.

Antonio also received his first call-up to the England squad back in October, although didn’t take to the field in either game, yet more excellent displays for the Hammers in 2017 will keep his name in the thoughts of new manager Gareth Southgate.

NAUGHTY – Simone Zaza

Simone Zaza was loaned in from Juventus for the season, and there was much optimism surrounding his arrival in East London.

However, it just hasn’t worked for the Italian international, who hasn’t scored for the Hammers in 11 appearances for the club this season.

It’s not through a lack of trying, as Zaza works tirelessly upfront, but he just hasn’t got the goals that his loan fee demanded.

The 25-year-old is likely to leave the club in January in a move that is probably best for both parties.

NICE – Dimitri Payet

He has been criticised in some quarters this season for a perceived lack of effort, but Dimitri Payet’s quality has also helped West Ham get out of some sticky situations.

The Hammers were looking at a sixth defeat in seven Premier League games when they trailed Middlesbrough on October 1, but Payet produced a moment of individual brilliance to find a way through the Boro backline and rescue a point for Bilic’s men.

Although he hasn’t scored as many this time around, the French international has laid on five assists in the league, and has arguably been their best player in their last couple of games against Burnley and Hull.

A decent free-kick set the Hammers on their way to a 2-2 draw at Liverpool a few weeks ago, and they’ll need Payet’s quality in the second half of the campaign to move away from the bottom three.

NAUGHTY – Adrian

Adrian has arguably been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over recent seasons, but he hasn’t had a great campaign this time around.

The Spaniard made costly errors against West Brom and Stoke this season, and lost his place in between the sticks to Darren Randolph following the game against the latter.

Since then, one appearance in their 4-1 defeat at Manchester United in the League Cup has followed and, although Randolph also made an error, this time against Liverpool, he more than made up for it with a stunning save to deny Jordan Henderson late on.

The Republic of Ireland international has also kept back-to-back clean sheets, so it doesn’t look like Adrian will be getting back into the side any time soon.

NICE – Cheikhou Kouyate

Senegalese international Cheikhou Kouyate didn’t have the greatest of starts to his West Ham career, but he has certainly improved in recent weeks since becoming a part of the Hammers defence.

The 27-year-old struggled when in midfield at the start of the campaign, but since Bilic has implemented a back three, Kouyate has been an important part of it.

Back-to-back wins and back-to-back clean sheets, of which Kouyate was a part of both, will give Bilic greater confidence in his side’s ability to defend at the top level, and it’s likely that Kouyate will remain an important part of the Hammers defence as the season progresses.