David Moyes was understandably delighted to get the vital win over Wolves at the weekend and was in a protective mood of his players too when discussing the result.

West Ham claimed a valuable and much-needed 3 points over strugglers Wolves, with the result ultimately leading to the sacking of Moyes’ counterpart Bruno Lage, who was relieved of his duties at Molineux yesterday.

The win was certainly a relief for all connected with the club, especially Moyes, who was very much in the spotlight ahead of kick-off, but his players didn’t let him down with a much more accomplished performance.

One player who definitely caught the eye was Gianluca Scamacca, with the Italian only making his second start in the Premier League this season, producing a performance and wonderful goal that underlined why West Ham forked out £30.5m in the summer for his services.

The 23 year old looked a player far more accustomed to the Premier League pace and Moyes couldn’t hide his delight in seeing his new striker lead the line in style.

“He can hold the ball up,” the boss told the clubs Official Website. “He can score with his head, he can lead the line and he showed some really good moments of strength as well to keep hold of the ball and obviously the big moment was his finish.”

The manager was also very protective in his post match interview when discussing Scamacca, stating that many people have forgotten that the Italian international has been unwell this season.

“He’s had a virus for three weeks,” Moyes stated. “Which I think people suddenly seem to have forgotten about or we’d have seen him a lot more. Hopefully we can get him right at it.”

Despite Moyes’ comments there was no doubt that the manager was very pleased with the performance, but ultimately the result. It was simply a must-win and his players rose to the challenge, with the refreshed line-up breathing life into a side that has arguably looked stale ahead of the fixture.

The Irons boss will be hoping the victory acts as a spring board this season, with a trip to Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League on Thursday followed by a London derby against Fulham at London Stadium on Sunday.