The season is only four weeks old - but already Fantasy Premier League is handing out some tough lessons for some of the more unfortunate managers among us.

Slaven Bilic got the birthday present he so desperately needed as West Ham hauled themselves off the foot of the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield.

Tottenham beware: a new ground means new gripes, writes Brenda O’Brien.

West Ham 1 Arsenal 5: ALEXIS SANCHEZ is either playing for a move, or a new Arsenal contract. 

Manchester United 4 West Ham 1: Jose Mourinho stayed out of sight as Manchester United swept into the EFL Cup semi-finals with a comfortable 4-1 win over West Ham last night.

Tottenham 3 West Ham United 2: As fans filed out of White Hart Lane into the north London rain on Saturday night, as the initial surge of energy from such a dramatic victory began to subside, there was a moment in the manager’s office in the bowels of the stadium which helps tell the story of the character instilled in this Tottenham team.

Everton 2 West Ham 0: Romelu Lukaku maintained his record of having scored every time he has played against West Ham — nine and counting — but the Everton victory marked a personal triumph for his midfield team-mate Ross Barkley.

West Ham 2 Chelsea 1: Antonio Conte’s hopes of marking his first season in English football with a meaningful run in the EFL Cup were dashed by West Ham, who notched their most significant win in their new home yet.

West Ham 3 Watford 1: Andy Carroll and Mark Noble were on target as West Ham kept their chances of a top-four finish alive with a 3-1 win over Watford.

It says everything about this season of surprises that West Ham were bitterly upset to drop two points and miss out on a place in the top four after a controversial equaliser from the penalty spot by Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas.

Everton 2 West Ham 3: West Ham captain Mark Noble believes a “special” last-gasp win at Everton capped a pivotal week for the club.

Blackburn Rovers 1 West Ham United 5: West Ham manager Slaven Bilic likened playmaker Dimitri Payet to Real Madrid’s Luka Modric after the Frenchman inspired the facile FA Cup win at Blackburn.

Norwich 2 West Ham 2: Mark Noble insists West Ham proved their fighting qualities after battling back from an Ireland one-two to snatch a point at Norwich on Saturday.

Southampton 1 West Ham 0: Fraser Forster has still not conceded a goal since returning to the Southampton side — but refuses to take the credit for his remarkable run.

Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe arrived home from a weeks-long holiday looking sprightly, quashing rumours that he had a heart attack.

Jonjo Shelvey ended a “perfect” week on Tyneside with a priceless victory which breathed new life into Newcastle’s Premier League survival bid.

West Ham 2 Southampton 1: Slaven Bilic gave his West Ham players all the credit for the half-time turnaround which saw them come from behind to beat Southampton 2-1.

Aston Villa 1 West Ham 1: Manager Slaven Bilic hailed James Collins after the defender celebrated a new deal to help earn West Ham a point at Aston Villa.

Sunderland 2 West Ham 2: Former Sunderland defender Sam Allardyce, who has been taking a break since leaving his post at West Ham at the end of last season, is the early favourite to take over from Dick Advocaat, who left his job as head coach yesterday just four months after being persuaded to delay his retirement plans for a year.

West Ham 2 Norwich 2: Midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate knows West Ham cannot allow their work-rate to drop if they are to build on a positive start to the Barclays Premier League season.

Manchester City 1 West Ham 2: The respective responses of the rival managers spoke volumes about this most unpredictable of results in this most schizophrenic of Premier League seasons and the vastly different weight of expectations being placed upon the shoulders of Manuel Pellegrini and Slaven Bilic.

West Ham 2 Newcastle 0: Slaven Bilic gave Steve McClaren another miserable evening as West Ham finally got their home campaign up and running with a 2-0 win over Newcastle last night.

West Ham 3 Bournemouth 4: It has been a long time since the Premier League boasted a team that every neutral could have a soft spot for — not since the days of Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle perhaps — but Bournemouth are looking contenders to carry that mantle.

Claudio Ranieri has promised Leicester fans that his players will fight for the cause when the going gets tough.

Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla may have been expecting the question, but he was still hesitant with his answer.

African leaders were under fire today after choosing Equatorial Guinea’s coup plotter and dictator of 31 years as their ceremonial leader for this year.

Former British Special Forces officer Simon Mann, accused of leading a coup plot to topple the government in Equatorial Guinea, is to be extradited to the oil-rich West African nation.

SOUTH African arms dealer Nick du Toit, who has been linked to Mark Thatcher, was jailed for 34 years in Equatorial Guinea yesterday for his part in a failed coup.

A South African arms dealer linked to Sir Mark Thatcher escaped the death penalty but was jailed for 34 years today for his role in an Equatorial Guinea coup plot.

A South African arms dealer, linked to Margaret Thatcher's son Mark, faces the possibility of execution by firing squad as oil-rich Equatorial Guinea today weighed verdicts for 19 alleged mercenaries and others at the end of a coup trial.

Mark Thatcher is likely to be questioned within days over his alleged involvement in an attempt coup in Equatorial Guinea.

Frederick Forsyth wrote it up as The Dogs of War, and set it in Equatorial Guinea: A rag-tag band of mercenaries, recruited by a British elite, tries to seize control of a mineral-rich, African backwater.

Hatched by Old Etonians and other members of the British political and financial elite, an alleged scheme to seize control of Equatorial Guinea flush with petrodollars was no ordinary African coup plot.

EQUATORIAL Guinea has a long history of attempted coups against its leader, a dictator who recently styled himself “God” and is alleged to eat his opponents’ testicles.

A trial in Africa’s biggest mercenary case in decades has opened in Equatorial Guinea, with soldiers of fortune from Europe, Africa and Asia accused in an alleged plot to take control of oil-rich country.

A trial in Africa’s biggest mercenary case in decades was set to open today in the rain-streaked capital of Equatorial Guinea, with soldiers of fortune from Europe, Africa and Asia accused in an alleged plot to take control of the country’s oil wealth.

The trial of 70 suspected mercenaries accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea was adjourned for 24 hours after a five-minute hearing in Zimbabwe today.

The trial of 70 people accused of being British-led mercenaries plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea was postponed in Zimbabwe today to allow their lawyers to appeal for the trial to be moved, court officials said.