Slaven Bilic has pledged to get his West Ham United side playing attractive and entertaining football.
The new manager has arrived in east London with a reputation for coaching sides which employ a possession-based brand of football that would no doubt go down a storm with the Claret and Blue Army.
With Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold calling for a return to the traditions of the ‘West Ham Way’, Bilic’s preferred style of play he will be music to the ears of the Board and supporters alike.
“I like my teams to play total football but nowadays in football you cannot just play one way and a one-sided team,” he told West Ham TV. “You have to do both – you have to be a good as a defensive unit and you have to attack with numbers.
“It is easy to talk now, but I’m going to say what I’m going to try to do. The philosophy is that we want to be solid but I want to have the ball and possession. I love the ball and have done with all the teams I have managed so far.
“My hometown team Hajduk Split had the aim to win the league every year, the Croatian national team was in the top ten in the FIFA rankings for six years and were expected to win every game, whether it was against Germany, England or Andorra.
“Lokomotiv Moscow was also a club that wants to finish in the top five and with Besiktas, the plan before the season is to try to win the league, so I got used to it.
“The fans can expect that we will try to be dominant, play with the ball and try to play good football. I’m very optimistic that we’re going to be successful in that, but also we have to be very stable.
“The defensive and organisation will give you the privilege to play with flair. Everything comes from good organisation.”
Mr Sullivan revealed that Bilic had arrived for his interview armed with observations gleaned from watching hour upon hour of West Ham matches from last season. The new manager hugely impressed his new employer with his expert knowledge of each individual and the squad as a whole.
“Even before there were any sort of rumours, I followed West Ham because I’m crazy about football and I watch the Premier League like everyone all over the world. Almost every game is on TV, whether you are in Russia or Turkey or anywhere!
“Before the end of the season, I was concentrating on Besiktas because it was a very intense season and it is a great club, but after the end of the season and talks started, then I watched a lot of games and was very excited by the quality of the players.
“I was excited by how they played in the first half of the season and impresed by some individual players. I’ve now watched them closer and there are a lot of things we can improve, many things were really good, and with the addition of a few players I am realistically very optimistic.
“We have a good team and we have a chance. This is a very difficult league and it all comes down to two or three games and getting that little bit of luck you need and we can do really, really well.
“That’s why I came. If I was pessimistic, what is the point? I am really optimistic we can do well.”
The new manager has arrived in east London with a reputation for coaching sides which employ a possession-based brand of football that would no doubt go down a storm with the Claret and Blue Army.
With Joint-Chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold calling for a return to the traditions of the ‘West Ham Way’, Bilic’s preferred style of play he will be music to the ears of the Board and supporters alike.
“I like my teams to play total football but nowadays in football you cannot just play one way and a one-sided team,” he told West Ham TV. “You have to do both – you have to be a good as a defensive unit and you have to attack with numbers.
“It is easy to talk now, but I’m going to say what I’m going to try to do. The philosophy is that we want to be solid but I want to have the ball and possession. I love the ball and have done with all the teams I have managed so far.
“My hometown team Hajduk Split had the aim to win the league every year, the Croatian national team was in the top ten in the FIFA rankings for six years and were expected to win every game, whether it was against Germany, England or Andorra.
“Lokomotiv Moscow was also a club that wants to finish in the top five and with Besiktas, the plan before the season is to try to win the league, so I got used to it.
“The fans can expect that we will try to be dominant, play with the ball and try to play good football. I’m very optimistic that we’re going to be successful in that, but also we have to be very stable.
“The defensive and organisation will give you the privilege to play with flair. Everything comes from good organisation.”
Mr Sullivan revealed that Bilic had arrived for his interview armed with observations gleaned from watching hour upon hour of West Ham matches from last season. The new manager hugely impressed his new employer with his expert knowledge of each individual and the squad as a whole.
“Even before there were any sort of rumours, I followed West Ham because I’m crazy about football and I watch the Premier League like everyone all over the world. Almost every game is on TV, whether you are in Russia or Turkey or anywhere!
“Before the end of the season, I was concentrating on Besiktas because it was a very intense season and it is a great club, but after the end of the season and talks started, then I watched a lot of games and was very excited by the quality of the players.
“I was excited by how they played in the first half of the season and impresed by some individual players. I’ve now watched them closer and there are a lot of things we can improve, many things were really good, and with the addition of a few players I am realistically very optimistic.
“We have a good team and we have a chance. This is a very difficult league and it all comes down to two or three games and getting that little bit of luck you need and we can do really, really well.
“That’s why I came. If I was pessimistic, what is the point? I am really optimistic we can do well.”