Is this the turning point that West Ham United have been waiting for? For over a year, they’ve been waiting.

Last season’s stop-start form since moving to the London Stadium saw the team loop dangerously close to the relegation places for some of last season after a final year in Upton Park, when they went just as close to the Champions League places.

Some consistency is much needed, but losing the first three games of the season wasn’t really the consistency that Slaven Bilic had in mind.

The talk now, though, is whether an unlikely comeback victory over bitter rivals Tottenham in the Carabao Cup can spark the team back into life. The early signs don’t look to encouraging, though.

Coming back from 2-0 down away to your local rivals who are sitting pretty in the league and on an incredible high is certainly a confidence boost, even if it would have been better to have been able to gain three points from the experience.

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When it happens, though – and especially when you’re as down in the dumps as West Ham are – there’s always a rush to proclaim it a turning point. The truth is, you only ever know a turning point in hindsight.

Last year, it took Chelsea a few weeks to pinpoint what had turned their fortunes around before they went on to win the Premier League title with games to spare.

It was at half time in their 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium when Antonio Conte switched to a back-three formation and changed the face of the league. Not even a comeback win, just a lightbulb moment in the mind of an under-pressure manager.

Sometimes it could well be an injury, too, just like to Spurs this week, who have suffered the loss of Harry Kane, who will miss a huge match against second-placed Manchester United.

That can lead to a poor run of form or it can give an out-of-favour player a chance he duly goes on to take. Other times it’s just a solid win that changes things. That’s what the Hammers are hoping.

The problem for Slaven Bilic, however, is that there was no discernable change this time. No injury, no chance grabbed with both hands and no tactical change either. There wasn’t even a personnel change at half time.

And nothing happened in the next ten minutes that would have made you believe that things had changed profoundly for West Ham. But then two goals from Andre Ayew and a winner from Angelo Ogbonna saw the Hammers drawing Arsenal in the next round of the competition. The why almost remains a mystery.

So, turning point? Maybe. But don’t hold your breath. And, in fact, we’ve been here before and not even all that long ago.

When Tottenham came to the London Stadium last season, the Hammers were up for it. Mauricio Pochettino’s side were chasing the title last season, it was the Hammers that killed the dream.

Even though it’s severely unlikely Spurs would have won the league if it weren’t for defeat to their London rivals that night, it was a late Manuel Lanzini goal that seemed to confirm the title was going west and not north.

But since that night, when, under the floodlights, the London Stadium began to feel like home, the Hammers have only won three Premier League games. So much for their turning point, and so much for the housewarming. One of those games was the final game of last season away to Burnley, the other two have been this season, both home games against Huddersfield and Swansea.

There were even signs of a similar comeback against Tottenham at the London Stadium in September, in a game which also finished 3-2 to the visiting side.

On that occasion, Spurs were 3-0 up before two goals from the Hammers made it an interesting end to the game. It looked like there was suddenly a surge of fight in the east London side. But it was to last all too briefly.

And so why should this latest good second half performance and victory over Tottenham be any different?

Without any discernible change in the way the team have played, the only way this would appear to be a turning point for a floundering team is if they can gain extra confidence from a win this weekend over Crystal Palace – who are, luckily enough, a good team to be playing at this point.

But on the basis of other rousing games against Tottenham, no one should be holding their breath.