Scott Parker said West Ham’s character pleased him most as they came back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Cardiff in his first game in charge.
Parker, confirmed as Nuno Espirito Santo’s successor on Wednesday morning, watched his new side fall well behind as Jack Moylan hit a first-half hat-trick for the hosts.
Moylan scored in the 11th minute, converted a 37th-minute penalty and headed in Joel Bagan’s corner two minutes later, prompting many Hammers fans to leave.
But West Ham hit back after the break. Divine Mukasa and Arne Engels scored in the 58th and 65th minutes, before Max Kilman turned in Jarrod Bowen’s cross with eight minutes left.
Ezra Mayers and Tomas Soucek both went close to a winner late on, but the result extended Cardiff’s unbeaten home league run to 10 games across the last two seasons.
Parker, who met his players for the first time that morning, felt the first half was poor and that his side were too passive, but they took more risks after the interval.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, he said: “The biggest positive is the team we saw in the second half.
“They showed a lot of character and that pleased me the most.”
The draw leaves West Ham eighth in the Championship, the final play-off place, on 23 points.
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