‘Some positives’ and ‘some negatives’. That was Nuno Espirito Santo’s response in a nutshell after his West Ham United reign started with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against David Moyes’ Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
As responses go, meanwhile, it was a pretty fair one.
Some negatives – some very familiar negatives – but a whole lot to feel positive about on a night when West Ham United’s fighting spirit and their togetherness shone through.
Two attributes often lacking during the Graham Potter era, where collapses had become the norm, and an area Nuno Espirito Santo always looked likely to improve having created teams far greater than the sum of their respective parts at Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
Time will tell whether Nuno can repeat his City Ground success at the London Stadium. Thus, turning West Ham from relegation candidates into European challengers.
But on an evening where the West Ham fans vented their frustrations once again at David Sullivan and Karren Brady – if they felt sacking Potter would turn down the temperature a little, they were wrong – the disappointment of Michael Keane’s first-half opener was offset by the brilliance of Crysencio Summerville, Malick Diouf and Jarrod Bowen.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesNuno Espirito Santo on the good and bad of West Ham United in Everton draw
From the Sky Sports commentary booth, Everton hero Andy Hinchcliffe labelled Malick Diouf ‘extraordinary’, before handing the Player of the Match award to Summerville.
For all the gaps in this West Ham squad, the left-hand flank is potential personified. Bowen’s equaliser, meanwhile, was another for the scrapbook. A searing, if deflected strike, which flashed past Jordan Pickford in the blinking of an eye.
Nuno, while keeping his cards very close to his chest, was pleased with the response from that 18th minute Toffees opener. Less so, however, regarding the defending, or a lack thereof, as West Ham conceded an eighth set-piece goal in six Premier League matches.
“We have to learn so many things. It was a tough game. The reaction from the players was good,” Nuno began. “There are some positives, some things that are negative. But now, it’s about analysing and trying to find the right solutions.
“Our message today was very clear. About competing as a team, being close to each other. And I think the boys did well.
“In terms of goal we conceded, we should have been more aggressive, [with] more contact close to Keane. But, in the second-half, we started defending better. The team did well in that aspect. The things will come naturally. Now, it’s about taking the steps forward.”
Nuno demands high standards as he inherits Graham Potter mess
As James Garner fizzed his cross into the box, Keane was left completely unmarked at the near post. Hinchliffe pulled no punches, labelling Mavropanos in particular ‘so poor’ while questioning the complete lack of urgency from the rest of Nuno’s charges.
One suspects, given what ex-Wolves captain Max Kilman said about Nuno during their time together at Molineux, such slackness is not something that will be tolerated for much longer.
“It’s too soon to say what the boys did today,” Nuno protested when asked to provide a more detailed conclusion after his first 90 minutes in charge. “It’s too soon to make this kind of analysis. There is a lot of things we have to improve. A lot, a lot of things.
“To think that we could come here and just roll them over is far from right”
David Moyes reacts after Everton’s draw with West Ham 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/CcMBD80KOh
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“Now, we are going to analyse. It’s about [getting to] know the players better, taking the right decisions at the right moments. It’s so difficult, it’s so hard. It takes so much time.
“Our approach is simple; [We need] the best of us, every day We are [getting to know] each other. It’s about competing for every ball. The players are slowly understanding that a football match, it’s about closing our own goal, how many chances we concede.
“That is something we have to work on.”