Hammers deliver for Bilic in must-win tie

ANYTHING but a win would have had Slaven Bilic wondering whether a list of replacements really is being drawn up by West Ham’s board. Thankfully for him, there were no hiccups here.

After back- to- back Premier League losses, West Ham wanted a first win of the season and it arrived at League Two Cheltenham Town in the Carabao Cup.

It was delivered by Diafra Sakho, who scored on his first start since November 2016 after a long injury lay-off, and an Andre Ayew goal.

‘We are dying for this kind of competition,’ Bilic said. ‘It helps our confidence. It wasn’t easy but we didn’t expect it to be easy. We put out a strong team and we treated this game as a must-win.’

A special mention must also go to Declan Rice — the 18-year-old was full of promise at the heart of West Ham’s 4-3-3 formation.

Sakho turned and shot for the opener on 40 minutes, and three minutes later Ayew’s effort also found the corner of goal.