No argument here, I'd also much rather take a point out of a game we were getting dominated in. However, I'd take issue with my manager setting us up to not have a go at least against our fiercest rivals. Take the penalty out of this game and I wonder how happy you would be.
Sam had us in Europe after finishing twelfth and by winning the fair play, so I'm not sure how indicative that is of how well we were playing. Bilic then took over and lead us to Europe through the table, narrowly missing out on 4th and generally giving us fans the most memorable season we've had in decades. Our woes are mostly down to our Board, but that's by the by.
If the advice you are referring to is "respect the point", that's a commonly used phrase by Sam, generally before big games.