SAMMY Lee glossed over the negatives and accentuated the positives as he vowed that Wanderers would not falter in their determined quest to get back into Europe.

The new Reebok boss admitted he was bitterly disappointed after kicking off his managerial career with a 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

The loss, coupled with Everton's victory over fellow European hopefuls, Portsmouth, meant Wanderers dropped to sixth in the Premiership.

But Reading's surprise defeat at home to Watford means victory over Aston Villa in their final game at the Reebok on Sunday will secure one of the three automatic UEFA Cup places up for grabs.

"The pleasing thing is that it is still in our own hands," he said.

"At the start of the season, if we'd said we could have a chance of winning a UEFA Cup spot by winning at home, in front of our own crowd, I think we would have accepted that.

"It's been a good season for the chaps and I'd hate to see them not get what they deserve.

"It would be a shame, after all the hard work, if we were to falter now. But we're not going to falter.

"We'll be pulling out all the stops to get the result we want."

Despite watching helplessly as Wanderers conceded three goals in 19 first half minutes to a Carlos Tevez-inspired West Ham, Lee was heartened by the second half response that saw Gary Speed equalise on 66 minutes and gave Hammers fans a nail-biting end to a win that lifted them out of the relegation zone for the first time in five months.

And, although he endured a baptism of fire, he insisted he was no less enthusiastic about the task he took on when he succeeded Sam Allardyce to become Wanderers 17th post-war manager a week ago today.

"I've learned a lot about myself in the last week and, obviously, in the first half hour of the game," he said.

"But I am enjoying it and I am looking forward to it.

"It's not been a great start; look at me, I'm trying to put a brave face on, but I have taken an awful lot of positives out of the game and I hope the players can do so as well.

"We knew what to expect. They were fighting for their lives and they had the crowd behind them.

"But we didn't help ourselves. That's no disrespect to West Ham, but we didn't apply the game plan and we didn't get the basics right. We got better in the second half, but we had to.

"At 3-0 down after half an hour we had a mountain to climb but, all credit to the players for the way they approached the second half and the way they applied the basics which gave us a chance to get back into the game."

Lee's only priority is to ensure Wanderers finish on a high.

"I believe I can take them to the next level," he said. "We know what we've got to do, get that UEFA Cup spot and see what we can do after that. Getting into Europe will be massive, not just for me but for the players and the football club and the supporters.

"They enjoyed their time there last season and we want to go back.

"If we do, that will be a vindication of the work all the lads have put in."