West Ham squad can celebrate wins while Bilic prepares

LONDON: West Ham United manager Slaven Bi l ic has given his players permission to celebrate the festive season but cancelled his own Christmas par ty ahead of the t rip to Swansea City in the Premier League on Dec 26.

Consecutive home wins for the first time this season over Burnley and Hul l City have pushed West Ham up to 13th in the table, five points above the relegation zone, and Bilic said he wanted his players to celebrate the victories.

West Ham finished seventh last term but have struggled since moving to the London Stadium at the start of the season, winning just f ive of 17 le a g ue g ame s

s o far.

“There is nothing wrong with having a couple of beers at the right time, a f ter the game,” Bilic told the British media.

“I want ( the players) to be mentally free, I want them to enjoy their lives. I want them to enjoy that we had six points from these two demanding games.”

Away f rom t he L ondon Stadium, the team have picked up five points on their travels and Bilic said that unlike his players, he would spend his time preparing for a tough run of fixtures.

Af ter the Swansea game, West Ham travel to champions Leicester City on Dec 31 before hosting Manchester United on Jan 2.

“I ( wi l l) take my staf f out but I told them, ‘ No Christmas party,’” Bilic said.

“We can have a Christmas party in January or February, let ’ s do the business f irst , because I want to enjoy that night out.” — Reuters