It may not have ended with the victory he was hoping for,
but Nigel Quashie says there were plenty of positives to take from
his West Ham United debut on Saturday.
The 28-year-old midfielder made his first appearance for the Club in our 3-3 draw against Fulham and, despite seeing Phillipe Christanval's late strike deny Alan Curbishley's men a crucial two points, he insists that it won't be long before Hammers turn the corner.
"It was an unbelievable game really," says Nigel. "I thought we were going well early on, but then we lost two players to injury and conceded the first goal in the space of a couple of minutes.
"We really dug in to fight our way back, though, and I was confident that we could hold on for the win after going 3-2 up. Personally, I thought it was a foul on Christian Dailly prior to their third goal, but unfortunately it wasn't given.
"Yes, it knocked the stuffing out of us, but the only thing you can do after a blow like that is pick yourself up and look forward. The injuries are also a big blow but, again, there is nothing we can do about it, and we have to just get on with it.
"There were still a lot of positives to come out of the game. The hunger and desire was definitely there, and we need to take that into the next game at Newcastle on Saturday. We should be going there on the back of a good win, but that's not how it turned out, and we simply have to keep believing in ourselves.
"I've seen enough to be sure that we can get out of the position we are in," he adds. "It's definitely a confidence thing, because the ability in this squad is fantastic and, once we pick up a win I'm sure it will give us the lift we need."
The 28-year-old midfielder made his first appearance for the Club in our 3-3 draw against Fulham and, despite seeing Phillipe Christanval's late strike deny Alan Curbishley's men a crucial two points, he insists that it won't be long before Hammers turn the corner.
"It was an unbelievable game really," says Nigel. "I thought we were going well early on, but then we lost two players to injury and conceded the first goal in the space of a couple of minutes.
"We really dug in to fight our way back, though, and I was confident that we could hold on for the win after going 3-2 up. Personally, I thought it was a foul on Christian Dailly prior to their third goal, but unfortunately it wasn't given.
"Yes, it knocked the stuffing out of us, but the only thing you can do after a blow like that is pick yourself up and look forward. The injuries are also a big blow but, again, there is nothing we can do about it, and we have to just get on with it.
"There were still a lot of positives to come out of the game. The hunger and desire was definitely there, and we need to take that into the next game at Newcastle on Saturday. We should be going there on the back of a good win, but that's not how it turned out, and we simply have to keep believing in ourselves.
"I've seen enough to be sure that we can get out of the position we are in," he adds. "It's definitely a confidence thing, because the ability in this squad is fantastic and, once we pick up a win I'm sure it will give us the lift we need."