It was long after the final whistle when Dean Ashton finally emerged from the dressing-room area at Upton Park on Saturday evening, clutching a bottle of champagne, his match shirt, and wearing the look of a contented man.
The 22-year-old striker had just notched his first Hammers goal on his home debut against Premiership basement boys Sunderland to set up a 2-0 victory and, while still getting used to his new status as the most expensive player in the Club's history, admitted that an instant contribution certainly helped to ease the burden.
"People are going to expect me to score goals, so to get off the mark so quickly is very pleasing," said our £7million record signing. "It takes some pressure off me slightly, because you never want to wait long to score your first goal for a new club.
"More importantly, it was the first goal of a good win, and the three points were the most enjoyable thing for me."
Until Ashton struck from close range in the 80th minute, though, it seemed that Mick McCarthy's relegation favourites might hold on for an unexpected draw that would have finally seen them reach a double-figure points tally in the Premiership.
Despite having defender Stephen Wright sent off after just 22 minutes, the Black Cats managed to stand firm as Alan Pardew's team battled to find a way through, and Ashton agreed that the early red card probably helped to galvanise the visitors' defensive discipline.
"Sunderland made it very tough for us," said Dean, "and it didn't really help us when they went down to 10 men, because it killed the game as a contest and they defended with everyone behind the ball.
"It was one of those games where we had to grind a result out, keep playing our normal game, stay patient and hope that the breakthrough would come - and eventually it did."
That crucial opener eventually arrived in the form of a simple tap-in from Ashton, following some determined work from Marlon Harewood on the right, and the new boy admitted he would settle for a similar chance falling his way on a regular basis.
"My goal was an easy one - but I'd take that every single week if I could!" he smiled. "Marlon did very well in the build-up to it and I just followed up in the hope that there might be a chance.
"Credit to Marlon and Teddy, they both came on and made an impact, and it just shows the competition for places we have in the squad here.
"I'll not rest on my laurels, I know I've got to
keep working hard and trying to improve, but this has been a
perfect start for me and hopefully there is more to come."