West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui namechecks Everton player as he makes win claim

Under-fire West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui claims Jordan Pickford was one of the best players on the pitch at the London Stadium. And he believes his side did enough to pick up three points in their goalless draw with Everton.

The Spaniard replaced former long-serving Blues boss David Moyes over the summer but is already feeling the heat from owner David Sullivan with significant discontent among the Irons’ fanbase who booed their team off on the final whistle.

Lopetegui said: “In the 94 minutes that we played, I think that we deserved to win with the chances we had, above all in the second half.

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“I was not happy with the first half, it was not enough. The positive is that we were able to have the clean sheet and enough chances to score and to win the match.

“It was very clear that one of the best players out there was Pickford. Maybe the only frustration I have was that the first half we lost 45 minutes and we can do better with the energy and the attitude with the high press.

“In the second half we did that and that’s why we had clear chances to win the match and to score and we worked on Everton.”

The 58-year-old added: “It does not matter that the fans weren’t happy, we were not happy with two dropped points. You look at other teams who lose who are fantastic and they only have three or four points more than us.

“We can do better and we are not happy but in the same way, we can take positives from today. We have one clean sheet in a match against Everton when they have very good physicality and very good players but we restricted them to just one real chance where Fabianski did really well.

“We had three or four players out but this was a big opportunity for others and they showed they are able to take advantage of this opportunity and compete to be in the line-up too. I prefer to keep positive although we want more for sure.

“It was not a quality first half, not for Everton or West Ham, but I think we want more.”

There were suggestions that the former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager, who exited Molineux after just eight months in August last year over reported disagreements over the Midlanders’ financial strategy, could be facing the sack if the Hammers lost to Everton but Lopetegui insists his side are heading in the right direction. He said: “I remember from the first day I was a coach, I work under pressure, it is not new.

“I am very happy with the commitment of the players, I am very happy with the club. We are not happy with our position but we the summary of the competition is in May and I assure you that a lot of things change in a few months, for sure.

“I think we are doing good things but not enough things. It’s true we don’t have the consistency, but we have to take advantage of this situation to grow as a team and grow as a group and to have more personality and if we do that, I think we are going to improve.”