West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley says Freddie Sears will be a major part of next season's squad.
After their draw at Everton, Curbishley said: "Sears coming on also gave Dean (Ashton) a boost as the kid chased everything.
"He's been out a long while and had to get his fitness back from a bad injury while playing in the top flight. That's hard.
"There was some 'stick' from the fans but then we've all had that. That's the business we are in, he got stick, I got stick, everybody was getting it.
"But a couple of weeks ago he was back up front at Spurs, we were down to 10 men and losing and he charged around for 45 minutes and in many respects that did him a lot of good.
"He worked ever so hard in that performance, and then played well against Blackburn and scored. Now he has done it again and scored another goal.
"Now I want him to finish the season well, and let's hope he can get a full pre-season of training."