I am as he is only 6 games in. But, and I hope I am wrong, the fire in his belly may be more a little flame these days and that has trickled down to the players. Everton was, apparently, an improvement (wasn't able to see it) so maybe there is some light.

But as it stands since his appointment we are way below the standard needed to avoid the drop and 'yes' we are just a bit worse now than under Pardew.

Why do you continually go on about Pardew being sacked at the end of last season, others may agree with you, but he wasn't. Keep talking about it ain't going to change things, we are where we are.
It's a new managers tenure now, he has been left with a bit of a shambles to sort out, it ain't going to change overnight. Hopefully he can get a few new players in, then he can shape the team to the way he wants us to play.
Moaning about the past is pointless.