West Ham United boss David Moyes spoke to the media during his post-match press conference on Sunday afternoon following a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Pablo Fornals' deflected shot was enough to seal a first win of the season for the Hammers in the Premier League, moving them off the foot of the table and out of the relegation zone.
Here is every word Moyes said after the game on
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What did you make of the performance?
The performance, really, in truth, was not the most important thing today, the result was. Performances though lead to good results and our second half performance probably led to us having a chance of getting the result.
Was getting that first league win over the line that real priority?
I just think it was little bits in the second half where we were getting closer to looking like ourselves at times, not always, but a little bit like it and from that point of view, we know we've not cracked it yet but winning away from home in the Premier League this season, or winning at home this season is going to be really tough. The competition level in the league is really hard.
For a couple of weeks, you have mentioned going to a three/five at the back formation, why was it today that you opted to make the change?
I made that decision because I felt that it might have given us a chance of playing in a way in which we might have caused Villa problems, it was the exact opposite I think. Villa thrived in it. The good thing about it is we were incredibly resilient in the first half and we didn't concede and in truth, there wasn't many chances for both sides. I don't think there was lots and lots of big chances in the game, so it was good that we gave ourselves a chance at 0-0 and we didn't buckle in the first half.
How do you think Emerson did on his debut?
Emerson was fine, we just felt we couldn't get him the ball, we didn't get much service and we weren't passing the ball well enough to really use him. I decided to make the change at half-time.
Heading into a week where you play Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, how vital was that win?
It's one win, it doesn't mean an awful lot. You have to start somewhere, but we had a win in midweek as well. Everybody who follows the Thursday/Sunday football will tell you how difficult it is to win on a Sunday after a Thursday game, so if you put that in the mix as well, you have to say it is a really good result for us to come to Villa Park and get a win today.
How is Ben Johnson?
He just felt a tightness in his hamstring. Then again, you look at that and Cressy (Aaron Cresswell) was feeling his groin at the end of the game. It's obviously because you are playing so quickly. You are pushing them back out again Thursday, Sundays, it is difficult. But, we are embracing it and I know I am sort of having a slight gripe at it but I think I am just trying to put in context where the players might be after a game on a Thursday night.
Do you feel better equipped for a busy schedule than last season due to the signings you have made, especially with almost two games a week every week until the World Cup?
I don't think we've had the greatest run of the draw when you look at it. We've played Sunday, we're playing Wednesday and we have got to play Saturday now, so if you are saying that and then look at that, you can't say we've had a particularly fair run of games and when you think we have played Sunday and now today, they want us to play Wednesday and now we have got to play Saturday, so that is not easy for any side, never mind us who are just trying to get ourselves back up and running.
What have you made of Said Benrahma's start to the season?
I think he has had a good start to the season, but he has also had a mixed start to the season. Some of his bits, he played against Brighton where we didn't see quite as much. Today, we saw it, we had seen it in bits against Nottingham Forest, but we know what we have got with Said. Sometimes, he can frustrate you, sometimes, he can make the difference. I thought today, he made a big difference for us when he came on.
At half-time, you changed the game. Is that the difference between an experienced Premier League manager and someone less experienced like Steven Gerrard?
No, I thought Aston Villa played well at times, their football was excellent. It was nothing to do with experience, I think it was just me thinking I had to do something to make this team play much better, so I wouldn't have put it down to him. Look, if I hadn't changed it and I had lost the game, you might have been saying to me 'what did you do that for? It was 0-0 at half-time. Sometimes, you have to take little bits of risks to take chances, some work and quite often, some don't.
How did you think Gianluca Scamacca fared on his full Premier League debut? Do you think he grew into the game?
I actually thought we were just growing into it. I thought in truth, we probably gave him nothing in the first half, bits of scraps. We didn't give him much service, we didn't get any crosses into the box for him to try and attack the ball. Just before we took him off, we just started to show a little bit more and he showed a couple of signs. He's one of the main Italian strikers, he's young. I wouldn't expect him to hit the ground running [straight away] exactly. I actually think it is harder for centre-forwards than probably any position on the field to do that. We like him, we have seen him, we like him. He gives us a presence, he's good, he's come in and scored a couple of goals which is a good sign for us.
What does that do for Michail Antonio? He seems to be relishing in the competition for places?
Great, which we want. I've said to Mick a few weeks ago 'there's no way we were changing Mick. Mick's been so good. To try and do what Micky Antonio has done for us in the last two and a half years, it'd be very, very difficult for us to do that. What we need is somebody, which we have known for a while, where we can play one week and change and substitute, that's what we did today. We didn't have that option last year, which we had today, which was to bring Mick on with 30 minutes to go.
What is the latest with Lucas Paqueta?
I understand he's had a medical today as well. I've not been able to confirm if it's all good or all bad, so I will obviously hope it comes off because I think he is an excellent player. I think he can add something to us, I think he is another exciting player and we have bought in several players, and a lot of them are full internationals and talented internationals. We've got all sorts, a German international, I thought he played very well today, I've got to say. I thought Thilo Kehrer played really well for us today. He has just started coming in, so [we hope] to bring a Brazilian international in as well. It has been a difficult window but trying to add that something at a level which we hope can keep us up there, is what we've tried to do. I am thankful to the board and to the club for trying to make it get the best we can.
Was there any relief to get your first league win of the season due to the pressure on managers?
I don't know how many wins I have had in the last two and a half years, so I would hope the people you are alluding to would be saying 'I don't know how many games I've won in the last two and a half years.' We were avoiding relegation and now we are challenging for the top six and lost three games in the Premier League. We have also won a couple of games in Europe already. I'd like it to be much, much better. I'd like to be much better, I'd like to be playing better, but we are in the middle of trying to change and we've had to change some players around and keep up with the big boys and that is not easy because at the moment, it is keeping up with the boys at the bottom. If I can get these players in place in place and get them in a bit of rhythm, we can play much better.
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