Nuno Espirito Santo admitted West Ham “have a lot of work” to do, although he was encouraged at his reign starting with a battling 1-1 draw at Everton.
The Portuguese was appointed as Hammers head coach on Saturday after Graham Potter was sacked, with the club 19th in the Premier League table following four defeats in five matches.
Having overseen just a couple of training sessions, Nuno saw his side fall behind to Michael Keane’s 18th-minute header and Everton had several chances to extend their lead at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
But the visitors competed on even terms in the final half-hour and Jarrod Bowen’s strike after 65 minutes, which brushed Keane’s head, ensured the teams shared the spoils, to Nuno’s satisfaction.
“We are starting now. We have a lot of work in front of us but we are delighted and we embrace the challenge. The players that came in did well and this is what we expect from our squad,” Nuno said.
The weekend started with a thumping Brentford win over Manchester United to pile the pressure on Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.
United were 2-0 down within 20 minutes, and 3-1 down at the final whistle. Bruno Fernandes' penalty miss only compounded the misery. The National's Andy Mitten described the performance as one of the worst since Amorim took over last November.
Liverpool's 100 per cent start to the season ended with a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Late goals have flavoured the champions' early run of five successive wins but they were given a taste of their own medicine at Selhurst Park as Eddie Nketiah scored a 97th-minute winner.
Arsenal also needed added time to drive the final nail into Newcastle's resistance. Mikel Merino gave the the Gunners parity with a goal on 84 minutes before Gabriel Magalhaes scored the decisive goal six minutes into injury time.
Manchester City thumped Burnley 5-1 with Erling Haaland twice on the scoresheet to take his season's Premier League goal tally to eight from just six games.
Brighton beat up 10-man Chelsea to claim a 3-1 victory, while there were also wins for Aston Villa and Sunderland. Bournemouth and Leeds, and Tottenham and Wolves, played out score draws.
Goalkeeper
Robin Roefs (Sunderland): A close call between him and Nick Pope. Pulled off some world-class saves and, unlike his Newcastle counterpart, kept a clean sheet and ended up on the winning side.
Defenders
Tyrick Mitchell (Crystal Palace): Arguably one of the most underrated full-backs in the division. Did an excellent job of nullifying the threat of Mohamed Salah.
Lewis Dunk (Brighton): A statement win over Chelsea, built largely on the impressive performance of their captain. A menace in both boxes and tidy on the ball.
Joe Rodon (Leeds): A defender who relishes the physical challenge. Scored in the draw with Bournemouth but could easily have had a couple.
Matheus Nunes (Man City): Not in the same mould as City legend Kyle Walker, who was lining up for Burnley on the opposite flank, but stuck to his task and smashed in a cracking volley to restore City's lead.
Midfielders
Jeremy Doku (Man City): Terrorised Kyle Walker on his Etihad return. The Belgian winger is much more productive in assisting goals this season. Seems to be relishing the trust Pep Guardiola has in him.
John McGinn (Aston Villa): The driving force behind Villa's wins over Bologna on Thursday and Fulham on Saturday. Scored in both.
Yankuba Minteh (Brighton): Was dominating Chelsea even before they went down to 10 men. Positively pulverised them after it.
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham): If the Hammers are to have any hope of pulling away from danger then their captain will have to be at the heart of it. His equaliser against Everton only underlines his importance.
Strikers
Igor Thiago (Brentford): A superb turn to spring Manchester United's woeful offside attempt and an even better finish. Added a second later on. Few get the better of Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt physically. The Brazilian bruiser showed how it's done.
Erling Haaland (Man City): A double in the 5-1 thrashing of Burnley took the Norwegian to 93 Premier League goals in 103 matches. We take for granted just how special the Man City totem really is.
Manager
Nuno Espirito Santo (West Ham United): His first game in charge of the beleaguered Hammers and secured a gutsy point against Everton. A much-improved performance from the East London club, though they remain second-bottom.
