Sam Allardyce said it was “onwards and upwards” for Everton after they beat Huddersfield 2-0 in his first game in charge.
Allardyce, appointed as manager on an 18-month contract on Thursday, oversaw a performance that was strong on effort, even if short on quality at times.
Gylfi Sigurdsson had a poor game overall, but finished neatly less than two minutes into the second half after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s lovely angled back-flick played him in.
England youth forward Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s outstanding player, added a deserved goal when he ran on to Wayne Rooney’s pass and scored via a deflection off Mathias Jorgensen.
“Getting a win in your first game after a fantastic win on Wednesday night – and back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. Let’s hope it’s onwards and upwards, boys,” said Allardyce, whose side are now 10th in the table.
The former England boss is back in management for the first time since leaving Crystal Palace in May, having taken them from the relegation zone to a 14th-place finish in five months.
“It took me six games at Palace to get my first win and everybody was telling everybody else I’d come back too soon, I wasn’t the man I used to be,” said the 63-year-old.
“If I take a job I’m totally, fully, 100% committed and I don’t take the job in any other circumstances.
“I turned many a job down before this one. I felt this one was right for me. It’s a dream job for me and I’ll give it 100%.”
Laurent Depoitre nearly scrambled in a first-half goal for Huddersfield following a corner from Tom Ince, who fired into the side-netting after half-time.
But David Wagner’s side remain without a goal away from home since the opening day of the season, and have lost four league games in a row for the first time since 2000 as they drop to 15th.