West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic could not have asked any more from his players and was disappointed that they could not come away with all three points following the 0-0 draw with Stoke.
Despite missing key players such as Dimiti Payet, Diafra Sakho, Victor Moses, Winston Reid and Manuel Lanzini, the Hammers squad showed the quality they have with a number of good chances to come away with the victory.
Mauro Zarate saw his effort strike the post, while James Tomkins and Cheikhou Kouyate both had efforts cleared off the line in the final few seconds.
There were plenty of positives for Bilic to take out of the game with Michail Antonio impressing in his first Premier League start and James Collins producing another impressive display at the heart of the defence to help the side come away with another clean sheet.
Bilic said: “I am disappointed with the result but I said to the lads after the game I could not have asked for anymore, especially effort wise. We had good team energy and they played as a team today. I cannot be unhappy about that.
“I thought Mauro's shot had gone in and it was a great chance that he created by himself coming from the left to the right hand side. We also had a great chance right at the end.
“Sometimes they are crucial for the season, let alone for one game. You sometimes need those goals to boost the whole club and the individuals. Unfortunately it was not meant to be today.
“We had a lot of positives from our side especially when you consider the amount of players we had missing today. To play like this against a good team makes me proud of the boys.
“It was a good game to watch. We have not scored for two games but we have kept two clean sheets and both of those games should not have finished 0-0.
“Michail did really well. He worked hard and has been waiting for his chance. Now he has got it and he used it really well. Sometimes it is hard for a player to come in and take their chance when they get it.
“But he did exactly that and I am really pleased for him.”
Bilic was thrilled to see Enner Valencia back in action following a month on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
The Hammers boss had more good news on the injury front after revealing that Lanzini could make a return against Swansea next Sunday, while Payet could be back in action at the start of the New Year.
Bilic added: “Slowly we are getting all the players back from injury. It is great to have Enner back. We have been practically missing him since the start of the season.
“Hopefully there is a chance that Manuel Lanzini might be back for Swansea and even Payet doesn't look like a long, long time.
“So I hope that Lanzini will be back next week and maybe even Payet in three weeks' time, but it's going to be longer for Sakho, Moses and Reid.”