Slaven Bilic wants West Ham job until end of the season as Nuno sack decision made
Slaven Bilic would be willing to take the West Ham job amid the latest on Nuno Espirito Santo’s future.
Nuno is under severe pressure at West Ham after a run of just two wins in 13 matches since he took over at the London Stadium.
The Portuguese manager replaced Graham Potter in September, but he has been unable to turn around the East London club’s fortunes so far.
The Hammers may be running out of patience, and fan favourite Bilic may be an option to step in and try to save the Irons from relegation.
What Bilic thinks about West Ham job
Bilic has been linked with the vacancy at West Ham before, and was understood to be close to replacing Potter.
Alex Crook has now revealed that the 57-year-old would likely accept an offer from the Hammers to take the post in the short-term if Nuno departs in the near future.
Speaking on talkSPORT on 29 January (09:27 am), he said: “What I’m told is, they want to back him and give him time, they want to back him in the upcoming transfer window, but if they keep losing games, I think his position becomes under scrutiny.
“And Slaven Bilic, the former West Ham manager is still available and would probably take it until the end of the season.”
How close to Bilic come to returning to West Ham before?
Bilic revealed that he came close to returning to East London when speaking to talkSPORT in November.
The Hammers hero 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.”
The whole club needs a lift and the Croatian coming back would be exactly that, as he has a brilliant history with the Irons.
Bilic made 54 appearances for the Hammers in the 1996–1997 season, then managed the club between 2015 and 2017.
In his first season in the dugout, he beat Arsenal 2-0 on the road in his first game in charge, became the first Irons manager since 1963 to secure a victory against Liverpool at Anfield, and also won 2-1 away at Manchester City.
The club finished seventh in the top-flight that season, but were eliminated from Europa League qualifying the next campaign and ultimately finished 11th.
He was sacked after a 4-1 home loss to Liverpool in November 2017, and his successor, David Moyes, is the only man to record a better points per game tally than this 1.33.
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