Aaron Cresswell believes that West Ham are already improving under Graham Potter.

Particularly in the first 45 minutes, West Ham looked much the better side against Aston Villa. There was a clear idea of what Graham Potter was trying to achieve, something that could not be said about any game under Julen Lopetegui.

One standout player was Ollie Scarles, the young left-back who put in a man-of-the-match performance during his FA Cup debut.

There’s no doubt that he has some brilliant players to learn from in the squad, but perhaps none will have been more important than Aaron Cresswell.

The veteran defender was absolutely delighted for Scarles, but also was keen to highlight just how excited the squad is as a whole to be working under their new gaffer. “Friday’s match probably came a little bit too soon in terms of preparation for the game,” Cresswell explained to WHUFC.com. “The new manager didn’t have much time to prepare for the game, but I thought we stuck together.”

“I thought we showed some of the tactics that he wanted and we implemented them really well throughout the game. It was a tough night, but I thought we did well.”

“I was delighted for Ollie [Scarles] to come in, get another match, and he was fantastic.”

“It’s tough that we haven’t gone through to the next round. But we look forward to Tuesday night now.”

“It’s never easy when the manager leaves and a new one comes in,” Cresswell continued. “But, look, it’s partly the players’ fault not performing.

“We’ve got to look forward now and move forward. We’re looking forward to Tuesday night. We only had a couple of days [before Villa] to sit down, go through tactics and how he wants to work and implement his style. Certainly over the years I’ve played against his Brighton side and Chelsea side and they’ve played some lovely football.”

“I’m sure over time, you know, we’ll get to that stage, and as I say, we’re looking forward now to Tuesday night. We’ll have time to work from Saturday and keep pushing forward.”

An energetic performance at Villa Park has been enough to get fans excited to watch West Ham again. Many had started to feel a bit hopeless under Lopetegui, but if the players and manager can get the supporters back on side it will make the whole match day experience much more enjoyable.