West Ham United were close to appointing Slaven Bilic as their manager before they opted for Nuno Espirito Santo.
In a conversation with talkSPORT Slaven Bilic has revealed that West Ham United were prepared to bring him back to the London Stadium before they landed Nuno Espirito Santo. The 57-year-old has previously managed West Ham, and he did a reasonably good job with them. It will be interesting to see if Nuno can turn things around at West Ham now.
Bilic said, “There was a bit, yeah, there was a bit. I was close or whatever, but I didn’t get the job. They got Nuno, who was a top manager and who’d done a great job at Wolves, not to mention Forest.
“And to be fair, after first couple of games that they were struggling also with the system and there were some players who were out of position. [In the] last couple of games, he put out a strong team and it clicked and six points in two games [wins against Newcastle and Burnley]. He is top manager and I think they’re gonna be okay this season.”
West Ham have been quite disappointing in the Premier League so far, and they are fighting for survival. Nuno Espirito Santo will be expected to guide them to safety this season. The Portuguese tactician did an impressive job at Nottingham Forest, and he will look to make his mark at West Ham now.
West Ham certainly have a decent squad, and they should be performing better than they have done so far. Graham Potter was unable to bring out the best in his players, and it remains to be seen whether you can help things around. Nuno has shown his ability in the Premier League with other clubs, and it remains to be seen whether he can guide him to safety.
A club of their stature should be fighting for a place in the top half. Instead, they are fighting for survival. The Hammers were fighting to survive last season as well. West Ham will look to bounce back strongly and secure a respectful finish in the Premier League. It will be interesting to see if they can improve their team in January and put together a winning run.
Meanwhile, the opportunity to return to England could be tempting for Bilic, and it will be interesting to see if any other club is willing to provide him with an opportunity in the near future after the links with West Ham. The opportunity to return to West Ham was close for the Croat, but the move did not work out eventually.