West Ham ponder Bilic deal over ‘one-season wonder’ fear

Slaven Bilic: Hands off Cresswell

Slaven Bilic: Hands off Cresswell

West Ham will only hand a new contract to boss Slaven Bilic next January because they fear the Croatian may be a “one-season wonder”.

The Hammers are planning to reward Bilic, 47, with a lucrative new deal, but joint-chairman David Sullivan will wait until next year to make sure that Bilic’s efforts are not a short-term fix.

Bilic, who signed a three-year deal last summer after leaving Besiktas, has had a brilliant start to life in the Premier League and has guided the Hammers into fifth place in the Premier League with eight games to go and seen them through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Sullivan told the Daily Mirror: “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.

“I have to tell you that he is interested in the project, not money.

“He stayed at Croatia on £2,000 a week for five years when he would have had bundles of offers. He is not really into money. He is more interested in getting the best players for the club than the best money for himself.”