- Slaven Bilic backs Sofiane Feghouli to establish himself in the West Ham United team
- Algerian scored on his full Premier League debut against Crystal Palace on Saturday
- Manager says an early-season injury had slowed the 26-year-old's progress
Manager Slaven Bilic believes Sofiane Feghouli can make up for lost time and become a first-team regular for West Ham United.
The Algerian winger scored a fine goal on his home debut in a UEFA Europa League win over NK Domzale in August, only to suffer a hamstring injury in the Betway Cup defeat by Juventus at London Stadium just days later.
That issue kept Feghouli out for a month and set back his chances of establishing himself in Bilic’s side following a summer move from Spanish giants Valencia CF.
After making nine substitute appearances, the 26-year-old was handed his full Premier League debut against Crystal Palace on Saturday – and he responded with a goal to cap an eye-catching performance in the Hammers’ 3-0 victory.
Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s trip to Middlesbrough, where Feghouli is again expected to start, the manager says he has faith in his No7’s ability to make his mark in English football.
Sofiane deserves his chance big-time because he was really good and has got better and better in sessions
Slaven Bilic
“I said about Sofiane that he didn't have a great start but that was mainly because he got injured against Juventus and that was before Chelsea in our first game of the season,” the boss recalled. “Then, instead of being three or four days out, he was out four or five weeks.
“Then, when he came back it was hard to put him straight into games. I gave him the second half against West Brom when we were losing 3-0, then half-an-hour here, 15 minutes there, and he played in the cup games he but couldn't get rhythm.
“In the last six weeks I told him he improved a lot, he's making a difference in training. For me, that's the key. The players nowadays come with agents and say ‘Why am I not playing?’ but it's not a clash of interests, because I want you to play and you want to play.
“A lot of time the starting position is different. Many of them go ‘Give me five games and then I’m going to show you, so I go ‘Show me a bit in training, because that's what training is for’.
“We are not talking about pre-season when you have five or six friendly games, but the Premier League, where you also have the pressure of getting points.
“Sofiane deserves his chance big-time because he was really good and has got better and better in sessions, then you think about him more, you give him a chance because he is a good trainer, he is fitter and because he makes a difference on the pitch because he gets more minutes.
“Then it can end with him becoming a very regular player for us – it’s so simple.”