The Blues put West Ham to the sword at Victoria Road on Thursday evening, winning 7-0 against a side that had kept Arsenal, our title rivals and Conti Cup final opponents, at bay just five days earlier.

Before the game Hayes said she expected a ‘slog’ against the Hammers, but from the first whistle Chelsea were rampant, and utterly deserving of the manner of our victory.

‘It surprised me a little,’ admitted Hayes.

‘It was more to do with us than them. We prepared properly, and if you don’t that in the first place, it won’t become that. It was as close to a perfect performance as you can get.

‘When you can maintain a performance for 90 minutes having made changes from the weekend, then made changes in the game, that’s a victory for the whole squad.

‘While we weren’t at our best against Tottenham, we worked hard during the week and that prepares them for nights like this.

‘We want to go up another level,’ added Hayes, never afraid of raising the bar.

‘It’s not good enough for us to settle for winning games. I want it to be more than that. We have to keep finding that within ourselves.

‘I believe in serial winning, and to be a serial winner I don’t want to get stuck with one team all of the time. I have to keep evolving. This has been a block about evolving us and developing more players to play at the top level.’

On a night when every Chelsea player was outstanding, Kerr succeeded in standing out with four fantastic finishes, taking her tally for the season to 19.

‘She’s the best,’ enthused Hayes.

‘She is the best without a shadow of a doubt. It’s not just the work she does in possession, it’s the work she does out of possession. She’s relentless with it. Her team behaviours are second to none.

‘All the other things around the box speak for themselves, but because of the person she is and the work she gives every day to the team, that is what sets her apart from anyone else.’

On her return to the starting XI, Fran Kirby was dangerous playing off Kerr. She rounded off a fluent team move for our stunning second goal, when the Blues moved at speed from one end of the pitch to the other in the blink of an eye.

Unfortunately, her involvement in east London was cut short when she picked up a knock shortly before half-time. Hayes provided an update.

‘It’s just a little bit of impingement in her knee. I think she will be alright. It might take a few days to settle down. I don’t know any more than that.

‘Yes, maybe,’ Hayes replied when asked if she could miss the forthcoming international break with England.

‘She might not go on this camp if her knee doesn’t respond well, but I can’t make those calls. The doctor has to analyse that.’

Finally, Hayes had words on the Continental Cup final, which will take place on Sunday 5 March at Selhurst Park, a week after we meet Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round.

‘I want to be in these finals. We want to keep winning. It doesn’t matter who you play in a final, it’s always a top game.

‘We know the last Continental Cup final we performed poorly, so the expectation on our return is we have to be prepared to find an in-form Arsenal team.’