Jarrod Bowen has delivered the perfect response to Swansea fans who have questioned West Ham’s promotion credentials after the Hammers claimed a crucial 1-0 victory over the Championship leaders in Wales.

Divine Mukasa’s first-half strike secured three priceless points for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who moved into second place and closed to within a point of Swansea after 11 games.

It was a significant statement from West Ham, who denied the Swans the chance to open up a seven-point advantage in the race for automatic promotion.

But while the Hammers returned to east London with the result they wanted, their performance did not convince everyone.

Swansea supporters took to social media to criticise West Ham’s display, with some suggesting they would be even more confident of winning the title if Nuno’s side represented the strongest opposition they would face.

Bowen delivers the perfect response to West Ham’s doubters

Hammers captain Jarrod Bowen, however, has a simple answer for those writing off the Hammers.

Bowen conceded the Hammers rode their luck on a couple of occasions.

But he reminded Swansea that his side also created opportunities to make the victory more comfortable, with several chances going begging in front of goal.

Bowen said all anyone will remember is that West Ham won the crucial game.

“We knew we’d have our opportunities to score and the goal was a really well worked goal,” he told West Ham TV.

“I think we had a couple of other chances and on another day they go in. We rode our luck a little bit but in the end you win 1-0 away from home against the side that is top of the league, that’s all that everyone remembers.”

It was a pointed reminder that football is ultimately about results, particularly when the prize is a return to the Premier League.

Swansea fans may not have been overly impressed by West Ham but Bowen also rejected the idea that his side must produce free-flowing football every week to justify their position among the promotion favourites.

Bowen says West Ham win at Swansea is all anyone will remember

“If you want to be dominant and do well this season you have to have all sorts of wins, it’s not going to be pretty every single week, it’s not going to be perfect,” the skipper explained.

“There’s going to be times when we’re below our levels – and we probably weren’t at our highest level (at Swansea) and we’ve come away with a 1-0 result so that’s all anyone is going to remember.”

The captain’s comments echo the familiar argument that the mark of champions is finding a way to win when performances fall below expectations.

West Ham certainly had their fair share of luck, but the defensive organisation that helped secure the clean sheet should not be overlooked.

The scary thing for Swansea and West Ham’s other rivals is that Nuno’s side still have considerable room for improvement, particularly in attack. Pablo missed a glorious opportunity to put the game beyond Swansea, while substitutes Taty Castellanos and Joel Piroe also failed to take their chances.

Nuno will want his side to be more clinical as the season develops, because repeatedly leaving games in the balance could eventually prove costly.

But West Ham have now shown they can grind out results in difficult away fixtures, even when their attacking football is not at its best.

Bowen’s message to the doubters is clear. West Ham will not dominate every match, nor will they blow every opponent away.

If they can keep winning while continuing to improve, Swansea’s supporters may eventually find themselves taking the Hammers a little more seriously.