Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased to kick off his reign as West Ham boss with a draw at Everton on Monday, September 29, but warned his team there was ‘still a lot of work to be done’.
Barely 48 hours after taking the reins at the London Stadium, the former Nottingham Forest manager’s first game in charge was a tricky-looking trip to Merseyside to take on the Toffees.
Michael Keane’s header gave the home side the lead at the break but a deflected effort from Jarrod Bowen 25 minutes from time gave the Hammers a deserved share of the spoils.
Nuno keen to ‘keep it simple’
The result leaves West Ham still languishing in 19th place, but after having overseen just two training sessions since taking over from the sacked Graham Potter, Nuno was encouraged by what he saw at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
He told reporters: “We did a lot of good things. We competed well but there is a lot of work to be done.
“We started the second half on the front foot, the desire was there.
“We have to build on that. Now it is about keeping it simple and trying to give the boys a good identity. We will get there.”
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Bowen ‘so impressed’ with Nuno
Goalscorer Bowen, meanwhile, admitted after the game that he is delighted to be working under his new boss.
He said: “There’s a real buzz about the place.
“The first two days, I’ve been so impressed with him and the way he manages himself.
“He knows what he wants from the team and we know what he demands.
“The players have all bought into that and the performance we put in was a credit to the manager.”
A draw was enough to see Everton move into 9th place but manager David Moyes will be without Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for the weekend visit of Crystal Palace.
Moyes fumes at yellow card
The former Chelsea midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card of the season and with it, a one-match ban – much to Moyes’ dismay.
He said: “It’s a really poor decision, it’s not a free-kick, never mind anything else.
“I can’t believe he’s got a yellow card for it. It’s quite ridiculous.
“He’s played really, really well. He’s been a great signing and started the season really well for us.
“He makes us play much better. We’ll miss him.”
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Shameeka Voyiya 
Newsjustnews writers 
Ren Azrack Escosio