Debutant Victor Obinna gave West Ham United fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic during Saturday's 3-1 home defeat by Chelsea.
The Nigeria FIFA World Cup forward showed plenty of glimpses of the talent that has seen him win more than 30 international caps and the Italian Serie A title with Internazionale.
The 23-year-old combined well with strike partner Carlton Cole, showed intelligent movement and a willingness to run at his opponents, and came close to marking his first appearance in a claret and blue shirt with a deserved goal.
Obinna was voted man of the match by sponsors Beta Technology, but the youngster would have much preferred to have taken home three points rather than a bottle of champagne.
"It was not the result we wanted, but it was a good start for me," he told WHUTV. "I was happy with the way we played because we played good football. I was a disappointed with the chances we created because I had a couple of chances to put it in the back of the net.
"Unfortunately, I couldn't score, but we just have to improve and work hard and make sure that we take more of our scoring chances because that is the most important thing. There are better games to win and we just have to work hard towards those games."
Having played in Italy's Serie A and Spain's Primera Division with Malaga CF last season, Obinna has now tasted life in three of Europe's top leagues. After his first 90 minutes in the Barclays Premier League, the forward cannot wait to return to action at Stoke City on Saturday.
"It was pretty fast, it was very, very fast! I really enjoyed myself because it's what I wanted. I wanted to be here and to feel the taste of the English football. I'm really happy to be here. I believe I will have good days here with West Ham.
"Mostly we have to defend well and I believe we're going to score at Stoke. We have to start scoring. We played against a tough team in the champions and it was a very tough debut, but against Stoke we know it's going to be a different ball game. We are on the same level and just have to play to our best to make sure we win the game.
"It was really an encouraging start for us because it wasn't nasty. A couple of the players are new here and we just need a little bit of time to bring an understanding and get to work together. I believe in the next couple of games we will find it."