Bilic ‘not fearful’ of the sack at struggling West Ham

Mark Scott
Slaven Bilic: Row with Stam

Slaven Bilic: Row with Stam

Slaven Bilic has insisted he is not fearful of the sack despite West Ham’s ongoing struggles this season.

The Hammers are currently languishing a point above the drop zone following last Saturday’s stoppage-time 3-2 defeat at Tottenham, and the picture could look a lot bleaker by mid-December.

They travel to Manchester United on Sunday – and again in the EFL Cup on Wednesday – followed by a visit from Arsenal and a trip to Liverpool.

Boss Bilic admits the table does not lie but is confident he still has the full support of joint-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold.

“There is not much to say, I am doing my job,” he said. “I speak to the owners, mostly Mr Sullivan, regularly after every game and in between if something needs talking about.

“I feel supported and as I have said so many times I concentrate on my job and our next game, and that’s basically it.

“I’m not fearful. I feel pressure, of course, because we are not producing, we’re not delivering and we don’t have enough points to feel happy and to feel safe.

“But I see the improvement. Against Spurs I saw a team hungry and alive, the points were there for us in a difficult away game, so that’s what I’m confident about.

“I take my job in good times and bad times. How I look at my job, or any manager’s job, is that the next few games can change everything from good times to bad times, and bad times to good.

“When we were doing well I wasn’t thinking about getting a new contract. All I concentrate on is how to improve the team, to lift them after a defeat or improve after a good run. That’s how I look at my job.

“The table is still very tight. If we had won at Spurs we’d have been about 12th.

“We can say it’s still early days but we have to start picking up the points. We can say we deserved more or were unlucky, but the table doesn’t lie.

“We know it will be hard, starting on Sunday, and then Arsenal and Liverpool. But also against Burnley after that.

“If we play like we played Saturday and avoid those mistakes, and with a little bit of luck, we can pick up results in any game.”

Defender Winston Reid is suspended for the trip to Old Trafford after his late red card at Spurs, but skipper Mark Noble returns from a ban.