A Wayne Rooney hat-trick saw David Unsworth’s Everton reign end with a 4-0 win over West Ham.

With new Blues manager Sam Allardyce sitting in the stands at Goodison Park, Rooney opened the scoring with a header after Joe Hart saved his initial penalty.

A second followed just before half-time as the former England captain finished off a superb flowing move with a neat close-range finish inside the box.

But Rooney saved his best for last with a superb strike from inside his own penalty area midway through the second half that flew into the Gwladys Street’s net.

Ashley Williams’ header in the 80th minute rounded off another miserable return to Merseyside for the Hammers and ex-Everton boss David Moyes.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Big Sam must sort the defence

 

Sam Allardyce will have learned a lot about his new charges in this game; chief among them will have been the need to improve the Blues’ back line in January.

With Leighton Baines and Michael Keane both injured, Cuco Martina stepped in at left-back while Mason Holgate was Ashley Williams’ preferred defensive partner.

Their respective performances were not terrible but should have convinced their new boss that finding reinforcements should be among his key priorities.

Last January, Allardyce signed two left-backs and a centre-back to improve Crystal Palace while the previous year Lamine Kone arrived at Sunderland.

A repeat of that seems extremely likely to happen in two months’ time to help ease Everton’s continuing defensive issues.

Unsworth finally solves no.10 issue

 

David Unsworth may have just found an answer to one of Ronald Koeman’s biggest failings in the Everton hot seat.

The Dutchman was continually berated for his attempts to play Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney at the same time, with the experiment continually falling flat.

A tactical switch from Goodison’s caretaker in his final game at the helm finally produced results with the pair on the pitch and operating harmoniously.

Moving Wayne Rooney into a midfield three proved to be an inspired decision, culminating in comfortably his best performance since returning in the summer.

Sigurdsson, meanwhile, was impressive despite being pushed out wide, tracking back and a desire to fight for the ball earning particular praise from the home fans.

If Unsworth can take any positives away from his brief stint in charge, this is definitely one of the biggest.

Scousers prove they can step up

 

One of the most frustrating aspects for the Goodison faithful about Everton’s alarming slide this season has been a lack of fighting spirit.

Their new manager will be demanding full commitment from his players and the Liverpool-born contingent is likely who he will expect it from the most.

Rooney took the headlines with an all-round display complimenting his hat-trick but Jonjoe Kenny and Tom Davies showed they are also capable of stepping up.

Kenny was superb at right-back, fully justifying Unsworth’s continued faith in him, while Tom Davies enjoyed his best performance for several months.

Finding a way to keep all three in the starting line-up, moving forward, may be a key component of Allardyce building on this emphatic precursory victory.

Pickford already heading to Russia

 

Of all the mistakes Everton made in the summer, signing Jordan Pickford was not one of them.

The young goalkeeper has fully justified his huge price tag this season, despite the Blues poor performances and continued to do  that in this game.

His second-half penalty save was a key moment, giving his side impetus at a time when they were creaking under constant pressure from West Ham.

Aside from that, he was outstanding elsewhere, reading the play superbly time and time again and bringing some much-needed calm to a shaky back line.

Chants of ‘England’s number-one’ rang around Goodison and there’s every chance Pickford will be hold that honour at the World Cup – even if Everton do struggle.