After a sticky start to the season, West Ham’s front three is finally functioning as it should.
New boys Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko now look up to speed with the pace of the Premier League; in between them, Marko Arnautovic is staving off injury to carry the bulk of the attacking burden.
The trio have fired Manuel Pellegrini’s side off the bottom of the table and understandably the Chilean has stuck with a formula that works.
That is good news for the club, but bad news for the backups waiting in the wings.
Renewed attitude
Snodgrass was not part of the plans at West Ham last season, but after a loan spell at Aston Villa, returned to the club with a great attitude.
He was clearly keen to impress Manuel Pellegrini; despite the former Manchester City manager purchasing Yarmolenko, who is essentially a Champions League quality version of the Scot.
He prefers cutting in from the right and getting shots off, just like Snodgrass, but has gone it more regularly and at a higher level.
That’s the main reason Snodgrass, despite his improved attitude, has been unable to force himself into the starting eleven. How can he change that?
Chance to shine
The opportunity to impress may come on international duty. Snodgrass will link up with Scotland, where he will be hoping Alex McLeish gives him the 90 minutes that have largely eluded him at club level.
West Ham lost last time out at Brighton, which means the door could be open for a change, if Snodgrass impresses.
Given the current midfield injuries, a switch to 4-2-3-1 could be possible in order to accommodate Snodgrass.
But he must play and impress for the Scots first. It doesn’t look as if he will be granted a league start otherwise.