How were the nerves at the end of that game?
Okay. We had to defend pretty well for periods of the game and I thought we defended really well today.
That was just your second away win of the season in the Premier League. How delighted are you by the result and the doggedness of it?
It is not just the second away win of the season but a second win in a week. Two clean sheets in a week. Two 1-0 victories in a week. In our position I knew we had to win some away games and we dogged it out today and found a way of getting a result, nicked a bit of a goal and getting a chance. Fulham played well at times but we defended really well today. We made it difficult for them.
Do you feel choosing experience over your summer signings paid off?
I wouldn’t look too much into that because if you look at the team we played, we only made one change in mid-week for the game against Newcastle so it was more to do with [rotation]. I always had in my mind that I would change a few players for this game and actually, the changes worked. I saw a few boys who have been around for a while doing their jobs like Cressy [Aaron Cresswell], [Angelo] Ogbonna, [Vladimir] Coufal all defended very well with Kurt [Zouma]. That gave us a real good base to work from. We started with the two boys in Danny [Ings] and Mick [Antonio] up top today to try and give us something else, to change it. In bits it did, so it was okay.
The substitution of Danny Ings led to anger from the away end and there was a “Moyes out” banner in the away end. What are your thoughts on that?
I can’t really answer that, can I? they can do that if they choose to do so.
Did Lucas Paqueta miss out with a knock?
Lucas Paqueta got a knock in the game [against Newcastle] and he trained yesterday but he didn’t feel like he was right so I couldn’t take the chance with it.
Do you have a timescale on his issue?
I don’t think it’s that bad. You probably remember the tackle he got against Newcastle and he has a swollen foot. He tried to train yesterday and did a bit but didn’t feel like it was right.
What did you make of Angelo Ogbonna’s performance?
Angelo has been great, a great player for us over the years and is still being required in terms of performances. He is a really good, experienced player I can trust.
Did you need experienced players in a game like this where you had to grind it out?
I think so. I’ve said this before, we would like to play a more expansive game, that’s the plan. But when you are in this position in the league which West Ham have been in several times, you understand that there is a way you have to play to grind the results out. I think today, the decisions we made worked really well.
Does that help to set a much more positive tone now going into Europe this week?
We’re looking forward to Europe and getting a chance to getting to another semi-final, we will work really hard in the two games to get through and we’re hoping to do it. We have to take the first game as it comes, which won’t be easy.
Can chants against yourself when you’re winning put unnecessary pressure on the team?
It can do, yes. But I have to say the players’ response and the way they have gone about it after the midweek result and pulled together to get a result today which they did do, magnificently led by Declan and the players. I have to say that it was a really good strong performance.
What was your reasoning behind the double substitution which angered the fans?
I actually thought [Joao] Palhinha was getting too much into the game at the time and felt we needed to deal with it differently at that time. We were also winning 1-0 and we’d also brought on a different attacking player in Said Benrahma for Pablo Fornals. We had swapped a real attacker in Danny for Said and swapped a midfield player for Pablo Fornals, so I actually didn’t think it was [too different], it is just the perception and how people see it.
You made a number of blocks in the game, what did you make of them?
That’s probably why we defended really well today and we did what he had to do. Sometimes we have to get in the right position and find ways of winning and I thought we did that. Part of that is blocking things. We would like to be playing slightly differently but at the moment we need to get wins and we got one today.
