Howard positive after draw

The Merseysiders have made an encouraging but unspectacular start under Martinez after their season-opening Barclays Premier League draw at Norwich was followed by a goalless home stalemate with West Brom.

Martinez's men showed plenty of endeavour and enterprise in their first home match but could not find a way to break the deadlock.

They created numerous chances but found Baggies' England goalkeeper Ben Foster in good form while Marouane Fellaini and Seamus Coleman both hit the woodwork late on.

Howard said: "It feels good. We dominated possession and got a clean sheet. We didn't win the game but we take the positives out of it.

"It is early yet. I think we played well in both games and were a bit unlucky, But that is the way it works.

"I think the performances have been good all along and as long as we put good performances together we will get the right results.

"I think there is a lot more possession now, a lot more encouragement to get on the ball, be positive. Everyone has bought into it, we are excited about it.

"As long as we can keep that defensive record nice and tidy we will give ourselves a good platform to go forward."

Howard had a relatively quiet day, only really called into action in the second half to keep out good efforts from James Morrison and Shane Long.

Source: PA

Source: PA