Slaven Bilic was full of praise for his squad following Saturday's 3-1 Barclays Premier League success at Crystal Palace
Slaven Bilic does not need a packet of travel sickness tablets in his wash bag these days!
The Croatian has led West Ham United to the best away record in the Barclays Premier League so far this season, taking his tally to 13 points out of a possible 15 with a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
Carl Jenkinson opened the scoring with his second goal in successive matches, before giving a penalty away just two minutes later. Dwight Gayle was then sent-off for the Eagles just before half-time, handing the Hammers the incentive to go on and win the game in the second period.
Palace sat deep and frustrated their visitors for long periods after the break, but West Ham kept their patience and were rewarded when substitutes Mauro Zarate, Andy Carroll and Nikica Jelavic combined before Manuel Lanzini fired home with two minutes remaining.
Then, to add gloss to the final score in added time, Zarate and the outstanding Lanzini combined for Dimitri Payet, who impudently clipped past Wayne Hennessey to make it four away wins out of five.
“We played really good, especially in the first half, we started the game really well and had a great chance in the first minute, to be fair,” Bilic purred to West Ham TV.
“When you play Palace they are going to have their moments because they have the players with pace to make the pitch short, and they have a great team spirit. Alan Pardew has done a great job here, they are great in every set piece and that’s why they were fourth in the in the league.
“I told the boys on Friday night in the hotel when we were analysing them that this was the game we were looking forward to the most. OK, Arsenal and Liverpool are big games, but this is the game against a dangerous team and I wanted to have respect for them.
“You have to defend and be good on second balls, reactions and in transitions, but I wanted us to come here and say ‘We respect you, but we are good’ and we did that from the start of the game.
“Of course the red card helped us in a way because they weren’t as dangerous as they were in the first half, but it created more problems for us because we couldn’t hit them on the break when they weren’t organised, because they were behind the ball.
“For that, you need some kind of magic or you need patience or shots from distance or good crosses, and we were doing that constantly and switching sides and in the end, it worked! That’s why I am so proud of my players and our Club.”
The Croatian has led West Ham United to the best away record in the Barclays Premier League so far this season, taking his tally to 13 points out of a possible 15 with a 3-1 victory at Crystal Palace.
Carl Jenkinson opened the scoring with his second goal in successive matches, before giving a penalty away just two minutes later. Dwight Gayle was then sent-off for the Eagles just before half-time, handing the Hammers the incentive to go on and win the game in the second period.
Palace sat deep and frustrated their visitors for long periods after the break, but West Ham kept their patience and were rewarded when substitutes Mauro Zarate, Andy Carroll and Nikica Jelavic combined before Manuel Lanzini fired home with two minutes remaining.
Then, to add gloss to the final score in added time, Zarate and the outstanding Lanzini combined for Dimitri Payet, who impudently clipped past Wayne Hennessey to make it four away wins out of five.
“We played really good, especially in the first half, we started the game really well and had a great chance in the first minute, to be fair,” Bilic purred to West Ham TV.
“When you play Palace they are going to have their moments because they have the players with pace to make the pitch short, and they have a great team spirit. Alan Pardew has done a great job here, they are great in every set piece and that’s why they were fourth in the in the league.
“I told the boys on Friday night in the hotel when we were analysing them that this was the game we were looking forward to the most. OK, Arsenal and Liverpool are big games, but this is the game against a dangerous team and I wanted to have respect for them.
“You have to defend and be good on second balls, reactions and in transitions, but I wanted us to come here and say ‘We respect you, but we are good’ and we did that from the start of the game.
“Of course the red card helped us in a way because they weren’t as dangerous as they were in the first half, but it created more problems for us because we couldn’t hit them on the break when they weren’t organised, because they were behind the ball.
“For that, you need some kind of magic or you need patience or shots from distance or good crosses, and we were doing that constantly and switching sides and in the end, it worked! That’s why I am so proud of my players and our Club.”
I told the boys on Friday night in the hotel when we were analysing them that this was the game we were looking forward to the most
Bilic was asked repeatedly by the media about rising expectations as his squad continue to impress with their free-scoring form and ability to win on any ground. But the manager himself says he is not allowing his players to get carried away.
One of them, Lanzini, produced a fabulous individual display in south London, who scored one goal and set up another late on.
“He is a player, to be fair,” the gaffer smiled. “I told you we wanted him last year at Besiktas and it just didn’t work out. I didn’t expect him to be that good straight away.
“With South American and then Emirates, he needed time to settle in, but he surprised me because he clicked straight away. His ability was there all the time and it shows you that good players are simply good players. They pull the shirt on and if they are surrounded by good players and good men in the team, they deliver.”
Lanzini’s second assist was for Payet, whose calm chip over Wales hero Wayne Hennessey was a joy to behold and a fitting finale to another memorable away day.
“That’s him, to be fair,” the manager continued. “We see it every day in training and he does it so easily, like Demba Ba taking a penalty. He makes it look so easy!”
Next up for Bilic and the Hammers is the visit of champions Chelsea to the Boleyn Ground and a personal managerial battle with a certain Jose Mourinho.
“They have to start to play better, because he is the best man for the job. He is polarising people and opinions but that’s what everyone is doing, talking about Mourinho.
“He is going to turn them around and maybe he already has because they won 2-0 today! I like him and I am looking forward to that game because it’s great to meet Chelsea sitting third in the table.”
One of them, Lanzini, produced a fabulous individual display in south London, who scored one goal and set up another late on.
“He is a player, to be fair,” the gaffer smiled. “I told you we wanted him last year at Besiktas and it just didn’t work out. I didn’t expect him to be that good straight away.
“With South American and then Emirates, he needed time to settle in, but he surprised me because he clicked straight away. His ability was there all the time and it shows you that good players are simply good players. They pull the shirt on and if they are surrounded by good players and good men in the team, they deliver.”
Lanzini’s second assist was for Payet, whose calm chip over Wales hero Wayne Hennessey was a joy to behold and a fitting finale to another memorable away day.
“That’s him, to be fair,” the manager continued. “We see it every day in training and he does it so easily, like Demba Ba taking a penalty. He makes it look so easy!”
Next up for Bilic and the Hammers is the visit of champions Chelsea to the Boleyn Ground and a personal managerial battle with a certain Jose Mourinho.
“They have to start to play better, because he is the best man for the job. He is polarising people and opinions but that’s what everyone is doing, talking about Mourinho.
“He is going to turn them around and maybe he already has because they won 2-0 today! I like him and I am looking forward to that game because it’s great to meet Chelsea sitting third in the table.”