David Moyes has raised the bar at West Ham, hence that imminent new contract, but with that comes increased expectation.
And a point at home to Brighton, depleted or not, was not enough for some and a smattering of boos greeted the final whistle.
They had witnessed their side finish a clear second best to Brighton, missing the chance to make it a perfect Christmas period by increasing the gap between them and the Seagulls and also reducing the one to the top four.
And though the circumstances may not have bought much benefit of the doubt in some sections of the London Stadium, there was mitigation for Moyes.
West Ham were massively weakened, missing two of their best players in Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta, their two first choice centre-backs in Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma and preferred right back Vladimir Coufal.
West Ham and Brighton played out a goalless draw on Tuesday night at the London Stadium
Despite failing to convert several chances, Brighton claimed their first clean sheet of the season
Pascal Gross had three clear chances during the game but could not find a way past Alphonse Areola
Kudus and Aguerd were missing due to AFCON duty with Ghana and Morocco respectively with FIFA rules stating players were to be released for the tournament from January 1.
The absences of Kudus – admittedly an injury doubt for this one – and Paqueta in particular significantly impacted West Ham going forward.
Moyes pondered: ‘Could we have not played on January 1st to allow our African players to play? That’s something that isn’t correct.
‘They [Kudus and Paqueta] are fantastic footballers and we need them. The other players need them as well.’
And, despite their flat finish to the festive period, Moyes pointed to the gifts already delivered over Christmas by his side.
‘We’ve had a brilliant Christmas on the points’ situation,’ he said. ‘I’m thrilled we’ve won three and drawn one including Arsenal and Manchester United and Brighton as well who are a terrific team. From a points point of view we’ve done really well.’
A long-awaited clean sheet was something salvaged from this low-key, low quality affair – perhaps another reason for the full-time reaction – for Brighton, ending a club-record 23 league game wait for one for De Zerbi’s side.
But if that suggests New Year, new Brighton, their failings in front of goal were a familiar story for De Zerbi who was on his knees late on after yet another chance went begging.
He has bemoaned games which his Brighton side have dominated but failed to win of late, at one stage claiming a big team and manager would have converted such performances into victories. Add this one to the list.
‘To score a goal [was what we missed] but we made a clean sheet,’ he said.
‘We deserved to win but we made some mistakes in the last pass, the shot, the cross, the assist.’
He was happy with how his side nullified West Ham’s counter attacking threat though, one reduced by their key absences.
In the return fixture at the Amex in August, Brighton dominated but were undone by a counter-attacking masterclass from Moyes side.
This time Brighton prevented a repeat.
David Moyes’ side extended their unbeaten streak to three games on the bounce after beating Arsenal and Man United
Jarrod Bowen looked dangerous during the first half, testing Jason Steele in goal
Danny Welbeck also had a chance to put the visitors ahead during the match
Soucek (L), who signed a new deal with the club this week, had the best chance of the match but slid his shot wide of the net
The first half was even with Jason Steele producing two impressive saves to deny Jarrod Bowen – who was ultimately offside – and James Ward-Prowse before his efforts were matched by Alphonse Areola who produced a double save of his own to keep out efforts from Danny Welbeck and Jack Hinshelwood.
There were close calls towards the end of the half for both sides before Soucek missed the best chance of the game for West Ham in the second, side-footing wide from close range.
But that was just some brief respite amid a flurry of chances for Brighton.
Their appeals for a penalty and Emerson handball were ignored but followed by a Welbeck effort repelled by Areola.
Joao Pedro than failed to finish his hard work after dribbling and feinting his way past three West Ham defenders but firing straight at Areola.
On came Evan Ferguson who was next to go close for Brighton.
Firstly after fashioning some space with some clever footwork before firing wide and secondly with an attempted clever back-heel that was blocked by the alert Angelo Ogbonna.
Pascal Gross and Jakob Moder were then next to miss chances from close range before Adam Lallana also extended Areola, who did as much as anyone to earn resilient West Ham a point.
Moyes added: ‘This was the first night we looked jaded and tired. I wanted to be better, for us to play better but maybe we were just lacking quality.’
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