Gerrard: West Ham players, not Bilic, must take blame
Slaven Bilic has found an unlikely ally in his battle to stay in charge of West Ham in the form of former Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.
The Hammers have struggling to recapture last season’s brilliant form and have spent the season nervously looking over their shoulders, rather than trying to match, or better, the achievement of finishing seventh last campaign.
Bilic has had to deal with two poor transfer windows, the controversy surrounding Dimitri Payet’s January departure, and numerous cases of player infighting, the latest of which involved a row with striker Diafra Sakho.
Speculation on Wednesday suggested the Hammers had lined up a move for Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi as doubts continued to surround his future.
But while Bilic is at least partly to blame for each issue, Gerrard sought to question the attitude of the players instead.
“Their game management’s poor,” he told BT Sport after it was pointed out that the Hammers have dropped 22 points from winning positions this season. “They don’t know how to manage a game.
“They get themselves in front and they’re not keeping leads for long enough.
“Of course it is (down to the players). I’m sure Slaven is sending them out there with a game plan telling them ‘Look if we take the lead let’s keep it tight at the back’ but they’re conceding too many goals.”