Slaven Bilic says he remains proud of what he achieved at West Ham, despite being sacked during his third season in charge.
Bilic returns to the London Stadium on Saturday as manager of West Brom for the FA Cup fourth-round clash and is assured of a warm reception by fans who still remember his successful first season in charge. In what was their final season at Upton Park in 2015/16, West Ham finished seventh in the Premier League and qualified for the Europa League.
Bilic’s second season saw the club finish 11th, but the following campaign, following a 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool in November 2017, he was sacked. He then spent five months as manager of Saudi Professional League club Al-Ittihad before being appointed as West Brom boss last June.
“The last few months were difficult,” admitted Bilic. “But I am proud of what we did at West Ham. It didn’t finish great, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great period for me. I played at West Ham and then managed there for a decent spell and the first couple of seasons were very positive.
“I’m extremely proud of those two years and I believe we did a really good job, breaking records and everything. The third season didn’t start well and after that we were playing catch-up. It was tiring towards the end, but before that I have many good memories.”
Meanwhile, Bilic confirmed that Grady Diangana, who is on loan from West Ham, will miss the match with a hamstring problem.
He said: “It is a massive blow, he has done very well this season.”
