The manager's broad smile said it all.
David Moyes had led his team to a European final - his first of a storied managerial career and the Club's first since the 1976 European Cup Winners' Cup final.
West Ham United clinched their place in the UEFA Europa Conference League showpiece with Fiorentina in Prague on 7 June with a dramatic, late Pablo Fornals goal which gave them a 1-0 win on the night in the Netherlands and a 3-1 aggregate success over AZ Alkmaar.
A memorable night for the boss and for the Claret and Blue Army everywhere, as we moved within 90 minutes of potentially lifting a first major trophy in 43 years.
For us to get to a final is a thrill. It’s huge, a great night.
There are huge scenes in the dressing room. There’s great elation for something the Club hasn’t done in a long time.
Let’s be fair, maybe if you saw us [come so close] in the Europa League last year, you might have said 'They’ve got a chance of winning or getting to a final'.
The support tonight was magnificent, they were right behind the whole team and players and I hope on Sunday against Leeds United they give them a huge, warm welcome.
We didn’t play well with the ball tonight, but we were well organised and defensively well-structured.
It gave us a chance by making sure we didn’t concede tonight.
We want to play much better and we had three or four opportunities on the counter-attack to maybe get ahead in the game earlier.
Was I overly pleased with the performance? No, but the job is to get to the final. We’ve had 13 wins and one draw in Europe this season, so it’s been a great run. The players have done a brilliant job and they deserve all the plaudits.
It’s difficult to explain how I feel tonight.
The lows are incredibly low in football, the highs are high, but I’ve won a semi-final and now I have to go and win a final. That’s the next bit.
So, right away I’m thinking who am I getting? From the players’ point of view, we’ll get back to work, but they’ve done brilliantly.
We’ve all but stayed up and we’re also in a final with a chance of winning a trophy so there are a lot of positives that have come from it.
When I got the word about their record, being undefeated in 25 European home games, I was frightened by it because great teams have come here over the years and not won.
I thought, oh my goodness, but I had come here and won a few years ago with Everton and maybe this is one of my lucky grounds, because a lot of people say I’ve got a lot of unlucky ones!
I’ve been in football and a manager for a long time and you don’t get loads and loads of big opportunities.
Maybe if you’re a manager of one of the top clubs you do, and we’ve shown in the last two years that we can compete [as a top club].
To actually get to a final is something which doesn’t happen in many managers’ lifetimes. I’m thrilled that I’ve had one or two, this is my first European one and it’s something I’m really pleased with.
I’m really pleased with the last two years of European football and it’s a chance for us to be in Europe again. We’re one game away from being back and we’ve just got to keep our record up and see if we can do it.
