West Ham United's victory at home was all the more enjoyable in view of recent shortcomings, coach and player criticism - and let's face it as fans we are all desperate to see 'Lopetegui's style' coming through. There were signs of this today which I'll cover later in the weekend. But there was a time, even at three - one up , when Ipswich had a couple of half chances and Areola made a 'worldie' save to keep Ipswich out.

Immediately, Lopetegui called on Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler from the bench to snuff out the possible Tractor Boys revival, highlighting two big differences from previous seasons. The obvious summer spend means our substitutes' bench is strong - being able to bring on a couple of internationals in midfield to shut down Ipswich is a major strength which West Ham have now, compared to previous years.

Still later, Summerville and Guilherme got onto the pitch which must have been daunting as an Ipswich defender, facing the last ten or fifteen minutes being run ragged by the youngsters with a point to prove.

The second difference - a Lopetegui characteristic - is that at last we have a coach who doesn't flog his players to death until making a change at the 89th minute. Our Spanish head coach has a good sense of when his forwards are flagging, for example, and does the sensible thing which was seriously lacking last year - and pulls off a clearly blown Antonio at 70 minutes.

Simple things, with big ramifications. Kudus, Bowen, Paqueta and Emerson all substituted: Every substitute who came on seemed to be playing to impress.

Old warhorse Cresswell snapped into a tackle where his own player Summerville got most of the venom, but the message was clear. Here was someone else who'd got a point to prove. Competition for places seems evident again, as does a determination to tackle, press and impress. Good to see again. Finishing strongly and almost grabbing a fifth was a statement of where the mindset is.

Tougher challenges lie ahead after the break but it is clear that everybody - starters, subs on the bench too - 'buys in to the project'. Little by little, we see greater energy and it feels that West Ham took just one step towards a new style. Finally.