A gritty, gutsy, industrious and intelligent performance from Flynn Downes showed just why David Moyes was so eager to bring him to West Ham United in July.

And while he may not have been a regular starter so far this season, Downes certainly showed he is on the up with his man-of-the-match display in the Hammers' 1-0 Europa Conference League victory over Anderlecht, last night.

“It was a tough 90 minutes but I loved it,” smiled the £10m summer signing from Swansea City, after substitute Gianluca Scamacca’s clinical match-winning strike took Moyes’ men to the brink of the knockout stages.

‘It was a good result and we ended up with three points, so it’s happy days.

“The mood in the camp is good and everyone knows how big this win is. When you start gaining momentum – just like we’re getting from European competition – that can, hopefully, now be taken into the Premier League against Fulham on Sunday.

“I felt sharp and strong but when you don’t play week-in, week-out, it’s always hard to get that match fitness and it’s tough for any player who’s not playing.

"You’ve just got to keep your head down, keep training hard every day and try to improve so that you can get yourself into the team.

“For me, it’s always been about sticking at it and when you get the opportunities, you’ve just got to take them,” added the Brentwood-born, 23-year-old, who certainly did just that at Lotto Park on only his second start in claret and blue.

“That’s what I’m trying to do and I’ll always give it 100 per cent every time I go out there.

“It’s been a big adjustment, though, because at Swansea we played very differently to the way everyone else plays, so that alone has been a big change but I feel like I’m adjusting now and getting used to things at West Ham.

“Everyone’s been so good to me - the boys and all the staff have made me feel so welcome from day one and I’m so grateful for that.”

The lifelong Hammers fan who also was full of praise for the travelling support who vociferously raised the decibel levels across Brussels, roaring their team to a victory that leaves them at the top of Group B with a 100 per cent record at the halfway stage.

“At London Stadium it’s a given that the fans will be there but it’s unbelievable that they’ve come all the way out here in such numbers and the support that we get away from home is just crazy. It’s been a special night and really good to top it off with a win,” he added,

Indeed, on a memorable evening in the Belgian capital, Downes might even have got on the scoresheet himself with a goal all of his very own.

“The left swing still needs a bit of work, doesn’t it?” he grinned recalling his wayward second-half shot that could have broken the deadlock ahead of super-sub Scamacca’s decider.

“I obviously need to go back to the training ground!”

And it is at Rush Green where Downes will be looking to stake his claims for a regular place in the starting line-up as the Hammers now face a congested fixture schedule of 10 matches inside 32 days, ahead of the break for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“There are so many games coming up and that’s why we’ve got a big squad,” concluded the midfielder.

"The competition’s tough but hopefully, the gaffer has now seen what I can do and, hopefully, he’ll play me a bit more but at the end of the day that’s up to him.

"Whoever he picks will go out there and do a job for him and, as far as I’m concerned, whenever I touch the pitch, I’ll always give my all for West Ham United. Meanwhile, I’ve just got to keep working hard and we’ll see where that takes me.”

Indeed, the final word on Downes’ Anderlecht adventure went to manager Moyes, who enthused: “Flynn did a really good job tonight – after starting to get the feel of it in training, he’s now beginning to get used to what we want him to do and he’s definitely given us something to think about.”