David Moyes has hailed the attitude of his West Ham players after the 1-0 win over Aston Villa.

The Irons had to battle for all three points in the Midlands, eventually getting over the line thanks to Pablo Fornals’ deflected effort from range.

That was the club’s first goal of the season and their first win, as well, and Moyes has hailed the attitude of his players as they climbed off the bottom of the Premier League table.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the win, the boss said, per BBC Sport: “It’s a great three points. The Premier League is tough at the moment. There’s very little between the teams, games are really tight and that’s the way it was today.

“We scored with a deflection but we were much better in the second which helped. Any win away from home is a really good result.

“We changed the formation which helped. Formations help but it’s the players’ attitude. They know we’ve been doing really well over the last couple of years and we want to continue that – we showed that willingness today.”

Moyes was also delighted with the display of Said Benrahma, who came on as a substitute.

The Algeria international was initially dropped to the bench as Moyes opted to play a back five, with Emerson Palmieri making his debut after joining from Chelsea earlier this week.

Benrahma replaced him at half-time and was full of positive running, as he constantly looked to make something happen down the left side.

Moyes added: “I thought Said [Benrahma] made a difference. He had a good pre-season but Said sometimes makes good decisions and sometimes doesn’t, which can frustrate me as a manager.

“But he came on and turned the game for us in many ways. We’re trying to piece together a new team but I thought it was the players who know how we’ve played in recent years that dug deep when we got the goal and helped us get the three points on the road which is really important.”