Billy Bonds left the West Ham managerial post at the end of the 1993-94 season, for Harry Redknapp to take over. He made an immediate impact at the club and West Ham was looking to stay in the premiership for the long term. Julian Dicks returning to West ham lifted the club, and the Hammers finished off the 1994-95 campaign in fourteenth position. They went out of the FA and league Cup in the forth round.
The 1995-96 season saw a big improvement in the team. The Hammers finished of the season in tenth position, a serious improvement in comparison to previous seasons, however they faltered once again in the domestic cup competitions.
The 1996-97 season saw the Hammers finish in 14th position in the league, however their new signing, Steve Lomas, proved to be a revelation for the club as he signed at the beginning of the year for a bargain of £160000. West ham were disappointing in the cup competitions, losing against lower league clubs, including, Stockport County and Wrexham.
West ham strengthened their squad further at the start of the 97-98 season, they bought Eyal Berkovic and the prolific striker, Ian Wright. West Ham reached the quarter finals in both domestic cup competitions. They were unfortunate to be eliminated from the FA Cup, losing on penalties to Arsenal. They met Arsenal also in the League cup quarter final, however they crashed out, losing 2-1 at Upton park. The great run in the cup competitions resulted also in good league form; they were impressive through out the campaign and deserved to finish the season off in eighth position. They also won an impressive 16 matches, their highest number of victories in the top flight since the 1985-86 campaign.