Bilic

Right away I want to say I rate Bilic as a manager and personally think this start to the season is a blip in what I otherwise think will still be a good, but not a spectacular season for the Hammers.

You have been unfortunate with injuries, and once these players return to fitness I think you will start climbing the league table again.

However, you do need to start doing this over the next few weeks or by then it could become a fight you don't need or want. Losing, like winning can become a habit and I think you need to get a few consecutive results to steady the ship.

This article was in the Telegraph & makes interesting reading regarding Bilic:



West Ham United will shelve plans to offer Slaven Bilic a new contract unless he can quickly turn around the club’s alarming slump – but his position is not under immediate threat.

The Hammers have lost four of their first five Premier League games, conceding 12 goals in the process, and were knocked out of the Europa League by Astra Giurgiu.

Co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold are sympathetic to the fact that Bilic’s team has been hit by a number of key injuries to Andre Ayew, Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Aaron Cresswell, which means his job is not yet in any jeopardy.

The pair also acknowledge that it is extremely early in the season, but Bilic will have to work hard to earn the new deal that was promised to him by Sullivan in March, when West Ham were riding high last term.

Although he signed a three-year contract when he was appointed West Ham manager, which still has two years to run, Bilic was assured he would be rewarded for last season’s work with an improved deal.

In March, Sullivan said: “I will give Slaven a new deal in January. I just want to see that he is not a one-season wonder. I'm sure he is not, but we will talk next January - or at the end of next season."

Bilic’s current deal contains a clause which allows the 48-year-old to be sacked with no compensation if the club are relegated from the Premier League, something he would no doubt seek to remove in any new contract.

David Gold and David Sullivan do not like changing managers and will give Bilic time.

But, even though there are no plans to sack him, West Ham will not risk giving Bilic a contract and removing the clause while the club are losing games and fighting at the wrong end of the table.

Bilic himself may be reluctant to enter negotiations, even if the club wanted to, while he is devoting all his attention and time to trying to solve the problems that have contributed to the poor start.

Having invested more than £50 million on new players this summer, Sullivan and Gold expected West Ham to challenge again for European qualification but that already seems unlikely.

The pair do not like to sack managers, but are also notoriously reluctant to commit themselves to agreements they may later regret.

Bilic is likely to attempt to bring some stability to his defence by giving former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa his West Ham debut at right-back against League Two Accrington Stanley in the League Cup on Wednesday night. Teenager Reece Oxford may also start.

Following the problems inside the London Stadium, there will be a greater segregation between the West Ham and Accrington fans while the club have already attempted to start a migration process that will see more like-minded supporters seated together in a bid to stop the in-fighting that has blighted recent home games.