Slaven Bilic believes his determination to litter his West Ham United squad with skilful players is one of the key reasons for his side’s outstanding start to the 2015/16 Barclays Premier League season.
Bilic’s men registered their third straight away win of the season at Manchester City on Saturday and, while the second half defensive display rightly won many of the plaudits post-match, the West Ham United manager wanted to ensure his attacking players also got the credit they deserved.
“My staff and I want players who play football,” Bilic said. “We are defending well as a unit like we have to with the ball in front of our box.
“But we also have ‘players’ on the pitch. You can’t have more skilful people on the pitch than we have. We have Lanzini, Payet, Obiang, Moses and Noble among others. Aaron Cresswell also is not a big strong left-back – he likes to play.
“I don’t know how long it will last but the best thing is to get football players who also fight for the team. Payet and Lanzini were still running for the team at the end of the game, which is not very common for those type of players – normally they are quite flashy. But they try so hard and that is why we are winning this kind of game.”
The result moved the Hammers to second place in the Premier League on Saturday night and much of the post-match questioning from the media centred around whether Bilic would now raise his targets for the side this season. Rightfully, though, he would not be drawn on such things, instead insisting his focus was solely on making sure his team continued to improve match-by-match.
“I don’t lay targets down. Nobody is saying we are going to fall. Targets are normal for the clubs at the top. My only target is to try to improve day in and day out and where that is going to take us I don’t know.
“Can we finish in the top four or five? Hopefully, but I am sure you [the media] would be the first before the season to say it wasn’t possible.
“But still it’s unfortunate it’s only six games gone so we have to maintain our levels and we have to improve as there will be ups and downs. We have to keep working and live for every game and every training session.”
The win at the Etihad followed stunning away day victories at Arsenal and Liverpool, but Bilic is not getting carried away. He believes there are many unappreciated benefits of being the travelling team in the Premier League and that is why there have been so many upsets thus far.
“It is hard to win away in the league, especially against the three teams we have beaten. But sometimes playing away makes you more organised and means you don’t lose your shape.
“It can also be hard to get the balance when you are playing at home so it’s sometimes easier to play away. In the first three rounds in the Premier League, out of 30 games there were only six home wins. It won’t stay like that, but especially in the beginning when you are desperate for the home win sometimes that pressure or rushing is your biggest enemy.”
The manager will certainly be hoping his side can utilise the same tactics when they travel to Leicester City for a Capital One Cup tie on Tuesday. whufc.com will bring you the manager’s exclusive preview ahead of the game.