‘Upton Park or the London Stadium? There’s no debate’
Interview West Brom manager Slaven Bilic returns to West Ham with mixed feelings, he tells Jason Burt
Slaven Bilic was at home working when his phone starting to ping with messages, and he realised something was up. “They were from my friends at West Ham. I knew straight away and it was like, ‘Oh my God!’” he says.
The West Bromwich Albion head coach was so engrossed with what he was doing that he had forgotten about the FA Cup fourth-round draw. It takes his Championship leaders to his former club tomorrow.
“It is special. I am not going to lie and say it would be the same as if we were playing, say, Arsenal. It’s West Ham. I was there as a player and as a manager. I didn’t play or manage 10 English clubs. I have played for two [West Ham and Everton] and managed two.”
There is a smile when he is asked whether it will be quite the same, given he is going to the London Stadium rather than Upton Park. Bilic had just over two seasons in charge at West Ham, including a thrilling and emotional campaign which was their last at Upton Park, their home for 112 years. They finished seventh, their best finish since 2002, and won away at Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool, breaking several club records.
He then led them into the Olympic Stadium and, after a difficult start, managed to finish a credible 11th before losing his job. Still, the 51-year-old achieved the best points-per-game total of any West Ham manager in the Premier League.
Bilic always knew the stadium move would not be easy, and while he accepts it was “a great opportunity, a great business deal” for West Ham, it is striking to hear him talk about how modern football – with its new, sanitised stadiums – does not really appeal to him. It is why he is so at home at West Brom, a very traditional club.
“If you ask me was it better to play at Upton Park or not then there’s no discussion,” Bilic says emphatically. “It was more home, it was more hostile. Not one opposition player enjoyed it when they had to go to Upton Park. That’s a fact. The Olympic Stadium is very different for an away team. You enjoy it more. It’s not that you were afraid for your life at Upton Park, but everything was there!
“Look at Arsenal. You saw what Wenger said: ‘We left our soul there [at Highbury].’ And it’s true. Even Atletico Madrid – their new stadium is too nice. Upton Park made you do this,” he says, vigorously rolling up his sleeves.
By now, Bilic is fully in his stride. “But West Ham! Yes, West Ham had Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Trevor Brooking, but there was always that” – he punches the palm of his hand, making a loud crack – “fighting, fighting! A fighting club! Always difficult to play there. “What also changes are the fans. It’s like pubs. Now you have modern bars. People prefer pubs where it is packed and you are shoulder to shoulder. Like what Roy Keane said about the ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ – it leads to that. You don’t want to lose that hostile home advantage and there are very few of those traditional clubs left in the Premier League because the league forces you to become more of a corporation than a football club.”
There is finally a pause for breath before Bilic exhales deeply and says: “To be fair, I prefer this. This being West Brom. This office. This training ground. The stadium. I love the smell of grass. I was very much involved in [West Ham’s new training ground] Rush Green with Karren Brady and I was always saying, ‘Don’t make it a five-star hotel. This is a training ground’.
“When I took Croatia to Euro 2008 in Austria [as coach] me and my assistant went to a few places and they were like Buckingham Palace, marble and everything. At the beginning we were like, ‘Wow this is great!’ But I said to my assistant (Nicola Jurcevic), ‘Can you imagine us walking through here after training in football boots? On this marble?’ We were preparing for games. We had to be focused!
That is why I like this. This is a football club and it’s got to be a working atmosphere.”
It is fair to say Bilic is loving life in the Championship, but not as much as he would love to get West Brom promoted. We met before the start of the season and he talked enthusiastically about the challenge ahead and, if anything, that enthusiasm has mushroomed.
West Brom have gone through a difficult spell of six league games without a win, but they remain top of the table, five points clear of third-placed Fulham, and one ahead of Leeds United in second.
“There is a question we have to
answer now,” he says. “Us and Leeds. It’s much easier to be in the shade and nobody is talking about you, but still I wouldn’t swap with any of the teams that are below us. It’s a privilege, and I said to the players that we have to embrace that challenge and opportunity.”
There is also the chance to bring in reinforcements in what remains of the transfer window.
“We have a good team,” Bilic says. “I am happy with the squad but we were talking also, five weeks ago, about a couple of players to help us; to give us a little injection of quality where we have a lack of numbers – up the pitch. Hopefully we can do that.”
Bilic has already leaned on West Ham for the loan signing of Grady Diangana. He likes how the
Championship gives a chance to young players who have been released or whose paths are blocked, and reels off names such as Conor Gallagher, Rhian Brewster, Ovie Ejaria and Eberechi Eze. “They all add quality, they have skill, they have hunger. When they play, they can’t wait,” he says.
Bilic makes no pretence that promotion is his priority, but he is determined to enjoy his east
London reunion tomorrow, when the chant of “Super Slav” is likely to come from both sets of supporters. “You probably know better! It’s not for me to say,” he says, sheepishly. “I am not comfortable talking about myself apart from my flaws. I don’t want to praise myself.
“I didn’t leave in a bad way because I think I did a good job there. If you look at how it ended then, OK, but it’s like that for most managers. Very few are there until the end of their contract.
“I’m not comparing myself to [Mauricio] Pochettino, but just because he got the sack doesn’t mean he did a bad job at Tottenham!”
So, what kind of reception does he expect? “A good one … I hope.”
‘Upton Park was more home, it was more hostile. Not one opposition player enjoyed it’