Carlo Ancelotti has described his first day on the touchline as Everton manager as perfect after a Dominic Calvert-Lewin goal got his Goodison Park reign off to a winning start against Burnley.
The Italian took over on Merseyside last week in the latest stop in a stellar managerial career that has taken in spells at Real Madrid, AC Milan and Chelsea. His new team started the day in 16th place, but the win buys them some breathing room, elevating them to 13th.
Ancelotti was delighted with the result and his team’s display as they saw off a typically spirited Clarets side.
"For me, it was a really special moment [being introduced to the crowd],” he told Match of the Day.
“After that, I saw a good performance and a good result. Today was a perfect day.
“I'm happy because we need points to move up the table.
“It was a difficult game because Burnley played a strong game but we deserved the result.”
Ancelotti made some tactical changes that he said paid dividends, playing a back three with Djibril Sidibe and Lucas Digne pushed higher up the field as wing-backs.
He was reluctant to take too much credit for the result, suggesting instead that the team, and the club, were too good for their lowly position.
"We tried to build-up with three defenders to put more players between the lines,” he added. “Some situations were good for us and others have to improve.
“This is normal and I didn't want to change a lot for the players. I have seen some good things.
“The spirit of the team, the fact Everton is a family and we have fantastic facilities."
Ancelotti, who was most recently head coach at Napoli before his sacking this month, knows it will be hard to keep up the level of the team’s performances in a packed December schedule.
Despite that, he acknowledged that the problems were the same for everyone, including their next opponent, Newcastle United, who kicked off after the Toffees on Thursday.
"We are used to recovering after three days, but after two days is too much in my opinion,” he concluded
“We have to play but it is impossible to recover so it effects the performance, not just for us, but also for Newcastle.”