West Ham reluctant to sack Slaven Bilic but Crystal Palace match will be key Jason Burt, chief football correspondent
23 OCTOBER 2017 • 5:04PM
West Ham United do not want to sack Slaven Bilic but Saturday’s Premier League match away to Crystal Palace appears to be increasingly key to the manager’s future.There is also serious concern from the West Ham hierarchy about the form and fitness of star players including Marko Arnautovic, Joe Hart and Andre Ayew. All have struggled this season.The Premier League club will give Bilic the midweek Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham Hotspur – who are expected to field a weakened team - and the league fixture away to Palace to turn things around. The Palace game could therefore be vital in defining Bilic’s future, as it was last season, with West Ham at home to Liverpool the following weekend before the international break.
Bilic is fully aware of the situation with concern expressed by senior figures at the club following Friday’s desperately poor 3-0 home defeat against newly-promoted Brighton.
A number of issues have been raised following that game including the form of some of big name players including
Ayew and Arnautovic who have struggled after their moves from Swansea City and Stoke City, respectively, and with Hart, on loan from Manchester City, having failed to so far prove he is a significant upgrade in goal on Adrian.
The fact the Brighton match was shown live on television compounded West Ham’s embarrassment although despite the ongoing uncertainty over Bilic’s future,
with his contract expiring at the end of this season, the club would prefer to keep him before making an assessment after this campaign. Even so the chances of Bilic being West Ham manager next season are slim.West Ham do not have anyone lined up to replace Bilic should he go before then but are closely monitoring the situation and desperately hoping for a reaction in the forthcoming fixtures with Leicester City and now Everton already in the market to find a new manager.Bilic has faced questions before from the West Ham owners over the fitness and conditioning of his squad – with, for example, scrutiny over the distance covered by players in matches - and the injury record during his time as manager and they have re-emerged. There are also questions being asked over his tactics – with a sense that West Ham are better-suited, with their current personnel, to play three-at-the-back.
Ironically this was the system that Bilic thought up when he was under pressure last season and first used when his team went to Palace and won 1-0 last October. Saturday’s game is also crucial to Palace, of course, after their weekend defeat away to Newcastle United left them on the bottom of the table and four points adrift of 19th place Bournemouth.
Bilic has been reluctant to change systems because he wants to get his attacking players, including Javier Hernandez, in his team.
There was disappointment that West Ham did not sign holding midfielder William Carvalho during the summer, as he was regarded as crucial to the way Bilic wants to play.Despite the scrutiny Bilic remains a popular and respected figure at West Ham and there is no suggestion that the players have turned against him although he struggled to provoke a reaction during the loss to Brighton.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/10/23/west-ham-reluctant-sack-slaven-bilic-crystal-palace-match-will/
