NEW boss Ivan Juric appeared to have already transformed the style of his Saints team but was unable to pick up any points in his first match.

Jarrod Bowen scored from close range to give West Ham a narrow 1-0 victory at St Mary's, after a first half in which Saints should have scored.

Guido Rodriguez was initially sent off for the visitors in the second half before VAR overturned the decision to keep a full complement on both sides.

Paul Onuachu played 90 minutes for the first time in a Saints shirt and typified the side's aggression but missed a couple of big chances.

Saints were bottom of the Premier League for the first time on Christmas Day and trained hard, after plans for time off were shelved by the new boss.

He needed an immediate impact but only four previous Saints managers won their first Premier League game in charge - most recently, Ruben Selles.

Juric, the league's third Croatian boss, came into this one hoping to replicate those victories under Alan Ball, Glenn Hoddle and Paul Sturrock.

He made two changes to the team that drew 0-0 at Fulham under Simon Rusk, with Lesley Ugochukwu and Onuachu in from the start.

West Ham's Julen Lopetegui had been under pressure this season but his side have managed to pick up results in five of their last seven league games.

They made a fast start at St Mary's and almost handed Juric a disaster beginning when Carlos Soler thumped the crossbar inside the first five minutes.

Saints grew quickly and Onuachu headed wide a good chance from inside the box after Kyle Walker-Peters kept Yuki Sugawara's cross alive.

The Nigerian should have scored, and Mateus Fernandes saw a header of his own saved by Lukasz Fabianski before Bowen fired wide on the counter.

Another Onuachu header meant Fabianski had made three big saves to keep it 0-0 by the time he was forced on a stretcher after 35 minutes.

Both sets of fans gave the Pole a standing ovation after he was, accidentally, elbowed in the head by Saints defender Nathan Wood in a contest.

His withdrawal meant there were 10 minutes added, in which Onuachu continued with his flicks and tricks but saw another headed chance blocked.

Saints averaged nine shots a game in their previous 17 Premier League matches but had bombarded the Hammers goal with 11 by half-time.

West Ham's Rodriguez survived a red card scare when referee Lewis Smith was sent to the monitor to rescind his sending-off for a foul on Walker-Peters.

Bowen then tapped the visitors ahead with 30 minutes still to play, after summer signing Niclas Fullkrug nodded down to him at close range.

Sugawara had conceded a cheap corner shortly prior and Harwood-Bellis headed clear twice but was beaten to the third cross by the German.

Saints remained in the game and Juric rolled the dice on Tyler Dibling and Kamaldeen Sulemana in the 72nd minute but they could not mount a comeback.

Dibling raced through on goal deep into seven added minutes but his curling effort sailed over the goal and into the Northam stand behind.

Saints: Ramsdale; Sugawara (Bree, 62), Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Walker-Peters (Manning, 86); Downes (Aribo, 62), Ugochukwu (Lallana, 86), Fernandes (Dibling, 72); Armstrong (Kamaldeen, 72), Onuachu.

Unused subs: McCarthy, Fraser, Archer.

Booked: Wood.

West Ham: Fabianski (Areola, 35); Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman (Todibo, 18), Emerson (Coufal, 87); Rodriguez (Summerville, 67), Soler (Alvarez, h-t), Soucek; Bowen, Kudus, Fullkrug (Cresswell, 67).

Unused subs: Guilherme, Ings, Irving.

Booked: Rodriguez, Soucek.

Referee: Lewis Smith.

VAR: Stuart Attwell.