Slaven Bilic joins 'Irons'

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Slaven Bilic lands West Ham job .. .... (June 9 2015)

Slaven Bilic is in no doubt he has joined a club going places after being named the new manager of West Ham on a three-year deal.

The former Croatia boss, 46, was on Tuesday confirmed as successor to Sam Allardyce, whose contract was not renewed.

Bilic, who also had spells in charge of Lokomotiv Moscow and more recently Besiktas, is the man now tasked with guiding the Irons into the Olympic Stadium for the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

The former West Ham defender, spending 18 months at the club from January 1996 before joining Everton, is in no doubt of the potential he is taking on.

"I am really glad to be back with West Ham United. It is in the Premier League, which is among the best in the world," Bilic said in a statement on the club's official website. "It's a big challenge and you are competing with the best and what better club to do it with than West Ham.

"I remember West Ham as a special club. I love these kinds of special clubs. My last club, Besiktas, was that kind of club. It's not about the size - West Ham is big club - there is something special about them - they are a cult clubs.

"It is a great place to play and I felt like I was at home. It is a big privilege and a big responsibility to now be manager and I hope that I will prove it to the board, players and fans."

Bilic added: "My first priority when choosing a club is to look at its ambitions. When I spoke to the chairmen and (vice chair) Karren Brady, they made clear that it is not only the fantastic new stadium we are moving into, but they showed their determination and ambition to make what is a big club even bigger.

"I saw their determination and passion that they want to do that. That was the number one reason. I could feel that they really wanted me so it was an easy choice.

"I would say to the West Ham fans that I will give my best and together we will achieve great things."

Allardyce's departure after four years as boss was announced minutes after the season-concluding loss at Newcastle.

The Hammers made a promising start to the campaign, but finished 12th following a dip in results.

However, the east London club did qualify for the Europa League via the Fair Play standings, so will start a competition again on July 2.

That gives Bilic little time to get his squad together following a shortened summer break.

Co-chairman David Gold had indicated they were determined to "bring in an established manager who has been there and done it".

It is believed Bilic was not the only candidate to have been under consideration with the likes of Rafael Benitez, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti, Marcelo Bielsa, Michael Laudrup, Garry Monk and Unai Emery all said to have been on the Hammers' radar.

With the potential of an extended European campaign ahead, West Ham are looking to strengthen the squad. A deal for Sampdoria midfielder Pedro Obiang is expected to be one of the first completed

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Slaven Bilic - The First Interview

West Ham United’s new manager Slaven Bilic has revealed his ambitions and targets after being unveiled as the Hammers’ new boss.

The 46-year-old Croatian arrives in east London later this month determined to help the Club he played for 54 times establish themselves in the new Stadium at the top of the English and European game.

However, the law graduate knows he, his staff, players and West Ham supporters will have to work hard together to take the Club where he and they all want it to go.

Here is what the new manager had to say in his first exclusive interview with whufc.com…

Slaven, firstly, what do you recall of your 18 months at the Boleyn Ground in the mid-1990s?

SB: “West Ham is a special club. Wherever I have gone, I have always said that some of the best days of my football life were during my one and half seasons with West Ham.

“It is not only business; it is personal, it is emotional. I felt it when I played there when I was at Chadwell Heath, where it was like a big family. With Julian Dicks, John Moncur and Ian Bishop.

“Every day was something special and the fans at that point wanted us to not only stay up and win the game but to win in style but they wanted to see good football. It was not just about winning.


“I remember one game, we were beating Chelsea 2-1 at home and we were trying to waste a bit of time near the end of the game and the fans were saying we had to play. ‘Boom, come on!’ So they are special.”

Are West Ham’s fans among the best you’ve experienced?

SB: “I’m not objective when it comes to West Ham as I played there. But it’s not only me but other people that didn’t play for West Ham they all thought the same. It is a special club. All those bits and pieces and have made my decision quite easy, but the most important was the ambition of the Club.

“I remember the fans at West Ham. I felt it when I played and that roar at Upton Park, before a ball was kicked, those ten seconds, when you feel something. That stayed in my memory.”

What are your ambitions as West Ham boss? What do you hope to achieve?

SB: “I’ve been in football a long time and wherever you go the ambition is sky high. But with West Ham, I found the ambitions to be realistic and the ambition is right.

“The ambition is to try to be top ten, definitely and then improve on that. First season, if we can finish eighth, ninth or tenth. Then, in the space of a few seasons, with the Stadium and everything, with hype, with probably a little bit more budget, with good planning and good play, nobody can stop us dreaming of European places or if we have a brilliant season to try to break into the Champions League places.

“To win a trophy, to win a cup. You have to believe in that to achieve it. If you don't believe in that then you’re definitely not going to do that. It doesn't have to be an obsession in a negative way. If you don't believe it, who will believe it?

“Where it's going to take us, I don't know, but logically if you play well and you improve your squad, if your players are playing more compact and more fluid with the ball, it should get you up the league.”





What’s your managerial outlook?

SB: “My nature is very optimistic, but realistically optimistic. I hope that we're going to achieve big things with West Ham.

"I felt good there, I can hope that I will enjoy it at West Ham and have the success like I had with my previous club Besiktas."

My nature is very optimistic, but realistically optimistic. I hope that we're going to achieve big things with West Ham


How does it feel to be manager for the final season at the Boleyn Ground?

SB: “It's a privilege. It’s impossible to have a bigger bond with a Club in such a small period of time. I clicked with the players, the fans, with everybody. After a couple of weeks, it was straight off and it lasted for one and a half seasons. It was brilliant.

“It is a privilege to be in charge of the team for its last season playing in a stadium that they've played in for such a long time.”

How much do you know about the squad you’re inheriting?

SB: “I had many Croatian players who played in England. I'm a big football fan first of all and like the majority of them, I was following the Premier League as well. So I know a lot about West Ham's current squad and the team is good, it has a good balance.

“They were a little bit unlucky last year with the number of injuries in a crucial stage of the season, but the manager has done a good job and is leaving me a good team. I definitely think the team can improve, as I said, last year they had some brilliant games, especially in the first half of the season. It will be my job to improve it and make it better


“Recently, in the last couple of weeks I took in ten West Ham games and I saw them all, when it was not obvious but likely that I might get the job, after the season finished in Turkey.

“I didn't want to speak to anyone before the season had finished in Turkey, which was 31 May, because of my respect to my club, Besiktas, and because of course the season hadn't finished.”

You’ve already had plenty of success in England, with Croatia and more recently with Besiktas?

SB: “With Croatia, in the first qualification rounds for Euro 2008, we beat you twice, we got one of the most shocking results, 3-2 at Wembley but then in 2010 you hammered us 4-1 and 5-1, so it's even.

“That counts a little but it's in the past. I know where I'm going despite not having managed a club in the Premier League or the Championship, but I know where I'm going and I know it's a very tough league but I can't wait for that."

Tell us about your style as a manager. What sort of team can West Ham fans expect?

SB: “To be successful you have to be good enough in every aspect of the team, you have to defend with numbers, you have to be very compact, very organised but also you have to attack with numbers and be good on the ball.

“The teams that I've managed so far, whether that be Croatia, Lokomotiv Moscow, Besiktas or Hadjuk Split, they were all teams with very high aims. To qualify, to top group with Croatia, to win the league with Split and Besiktas, with Lokomotiv top three, top five, so my style had to be dominant.

“With Besiktas, in 90 per cent of our games we had more possession, you are the better side, you are the one that is attacking and the opponent is on the counter. But in the games where we had to be compact like against Arsenal, we weren't dominant. So you have to be both. But I like my team to play football, to play good football ,,

[Part-Timer]

I think the interview should have gone out on WTFuc.com, not whufc.com