Busy Bilic hasn’t had a chance to name newborn daughter

Slaven Bilic has not got around to naming his four-day-old daughter . . . because he is too busy sorting out West Ham.

His wife, Ivana, gave birth to their second child on Tuesday, 24 hours before the Hammers scraped past minnows Accrington Stanley in the English League Cup. .

Bilic, now a father of four, admitted: “I adore my kids but it’s very strange because I had a baby a couple of days ago and I’m totally, totally about football.

“That’s not good! Of course, I adore her and I would walk on my knees to Australia for her but you know what I mean.

“People have asked if she has a name yet. A name?

“No, it’s football and I’ve got a job to do! So we still haven’t got a name. End of the season? No, we’ll do it after the international break!”

Struggling West Ham have shipped four goals in consecutive league games for the first time since 2008. And Croat Bilic, 48, said: “It would mean a lot to get the three points.

“It will bring back the belief. It’s still early in the season but we don’t want to be in this position.”

Bilic reckons the club’s current plight reminds him of film The Perfect Storm. Defeats, major injuries and moving to the Olympic Stadium, not to mention fans’ fury over stewarding at the new ground, has blown the Hammers off course after their big progress last season.

Today’s clash against Southampton is the first league game at their new home since crowd trouble during the Watford defeat.

Bilic added: “It’s like the movie The Perfect Storm with George Clooney! The movie is sad but it is good, especially when Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio explains that once in a 100 years you get a storm like that . . . But the main thing for us is not to panic.

“We have to think, ‘Yes, this has happened to us, now let’s sort out the reasons’. You must stay positive or you have no chance.

“When you’re an international manager you sometimes only have 10 games in a campaign, so when you get off to a bad start in September it’s tough to put things right.

“When I was a player here at West Ham with Harry Redknapp, we used to be in this situation sometimes and I learned not to panic.

“I want fans to get behind us. They will play a big part in this game. They always do – but especially now.”

It’s (West Ham’s struggle) like the movie The Perfect Storm with George Clooney! The movie is sad but it is good... Slaven Bilic