With a side virtually thrown together in the space of a month, Eriksson found the potent combination of an effective and winning performance, with the promise of much more to come when his eight new boys eventually find their feet.

Bianchi’s close-range effort before the break and Geovanni’s angled drive near the end sealed a win which was enough to shut the mouths of Eriksson’s many critics, for a while at least anyway.

But opposite number Alan Curbishley, a one-time candidate for the Swede’s old job, must be anxious about his side’s pitiful display at the beginning of a campaign which promised so much after the troubles of last term.

In fact, the high point of an otherwise horrible day for the Hammers was Dean Ashton’s return, and even he could not wipe the smile off Eriksson’s face.

Given the largely negative manner in which his time in charge of the England side is remembered, Eriksson might have expected a rather more frosty reception than he actually received.

The Swede took his place in the dug-out relatively unnoticed as the home fans blew their pre-match bubbles and did not emerge until City were ahead.

Other than an isolated cat-call, the only boos Eriksson heard were reserved for the West Ham players following a bitterly disappointing contest as far as the home fans were concerned.

Despite dominating possession for long periods in the opening period, Curbishley’s side failed miserably to put any pressure on rookie keeper Kasper Schmeichel.

Eriksson must have feared for the 20-year-old, son of great Dane Peter, when he named him in a starting line-up featuring six Premier League debutants.

Yet Schmeichel was a virtual spectator as City’s defence, protected superbly by Dietmar Hamann and Michael Johnson, kept them at arm’s length.

All the threat came from the visitors, with Martin Petrov particularly prolific in the shooting department.

The Bulgarian midfielder let fly from all angles without being able to beat Robert Green.

It was Elano who provided the touch of class though.

One of Eriksson’s eight summer signings, although presumably someone the Swede did at least previously view on TV given his Champions League experience with Shakhtar Donetsk and international background with Brazil, most recently in their triumphant Copa America campaign, Elano enjoyed a superb introduction to the English game.

Deployed just behind lone striker Bianchi, Elano found space intelligently, never lost his composure and always threatened to cause problems.

The 26-year-old had already fired one snap-shot over when he collected Stephen Ireland’s short pass after Luis Boa Morte had lost possession inside the City half.

Quickly sensing Matthew Upson might lack half a yard of pace, Elano ran straight at the England defender, then skipped round him with the minimum of fuss.

The low cross invited a far post finish and Bianchi – fourth highest scorer in Serie A last term – was on hand to tap home.

Curbishley gave a clear indication of what he thought about West Ham’s attempts to level by hauling off both Boa Morte and Lee Bowyer during the interval.

For the moment Ashton, the man most Hammers fans and watching England coach Steve McClaren really wanted to see, remained on the bench. But the introduction of Matthew Etherington instantly brought the home side more threat.

Micah Richards needed all his impressive strength to prevent Craig Bellamy getting his head to Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and with Schmeichel suddenly starting to wobble, the Hammers went for it.

Ljungberg was an inch away from turning home Etherington’s cross but, with just under half an hour remaining Curbishley called on Ashton, who had not played a game since breaking an ankle on England duty 12 months ago.

Yet, with Richards matching Ashton stride for stride and jump for jump, the move actually stopped West Ham’s flow, allowing City to force themselves back into the contest.

Robert Green was unconvincing as he fumbled Petrov’s shot and only Ireland’s slack pass prevented the midfielder being offered another sight of the Hammers goal.

But the golden moment Ashton had been waiting for arrived 11 minutes from time as Etherington picked him out with a deep cross.

The striker took aim from 10 yards, only to see his first-time volley skim the crossbar.

It was the nearest West Ham came to spoiling Eriksson’s day before substitute Geovanni rammed home number two four minutes from time.