Bilic needs a way to plug the leaks
SLAVEN BILIC is at a loss over how to solve West Ham’s defensive woes before a make-orbreak week.
The manager is coming under increasing scrutiny, with five straight defeats producing fresh question marks over his future. And that pressure will go up another notch if the Hammers lose at home to Swansea today.
West Ham have leaked 13 goals in the miserable losing sequence which has seen them dragged into trouble and Bilic said: “We are conceding way too many goals, not just in the last five games. We either get a clean sheet or we concede more than two goals or even three goals.
“Against Arsenal in our last game [3-0 defeat] we crumbled after the first goal. We were solid, then conceded a goal and that happens.
“We have changed the system a lot of times this season. There is not a lot of time to try them. But we are thinking about that.” Not even the £8 million arrival of Southampton skipper Jose Fonte in January has helped shore up a leaky defence in a season that has fallen flat for the Hammers.
The inevitable question arises, therefore, of whether the players are playing for the manager or have lost faith in him. Bilic brushes that off.
“If you are asking me if they care, of course they care,” he said. “This is not a question of qualifying for Europe or not qualifying for Europe, or whether or not we finish in the top 10. We care about those things but this is far more serious. It’s a very serious situation. Do my players care as much as me? I think they do.
“When we won six games out of nine, which was right before these five defeats, I was saying we were in a good situation but that there were still lots of points to play for and still a job to be done. And now it is of massive importance. This game is going to be extremely difficult – I rate Swansea and Paul Clement, but they are below us.
“It’s not do-or-die but it’s a serious situation all right. The expectations this season have been to make a big step up but suddenly we have found ourselves in a situation where we need points. I’ve seen bigger clubs in trouble and then when
they stay A FEW of weeks ago, West Ham were looking safe in mid-table in the Premier League but since then they have lost five in a row and are now perilously close to the relegation zone.
Just five points separate the Hammers and Swansea, who currently occupy the final relegation spot. West Ham are 23-20 favourites to win the game. However, to me they look like they perhaps switched off mentally up they celebrate like hell. But we are not going down.”
Swansea will no doubt believe the same thing and it is little wonder that Martin Olsson wants to crank up the pressure on Bilic today.
“West Ham are not playing as well as they can at home so that will make a difference,” said the Swans defender. “Upton Park was a really tough place to go to and they have not collected when they reached mid-table and are now struggling to turn it back on.
Swansea, on the other hand, know they are in a dogfight and have been battling hard since Paul Clement arrived as manager. For that reason, I reckon the Swans represent much better value at 12-5 for the win.
Slaven Bilic is odds-on at 8-11 to no longer be Hammers boss on the first day of next season. points like they did last season. It will be tough but I’m confident we can get a result if we work hard. We have to go to West Ham and go for the win.” Swansea dropped back into the relegation zone after their last-gasp defeat by Tottenham on Wednesday night – they were leading 1-0 until the 88th minute before Spurs came back with goals by Dele Alli, Son HeungMin and Christian Eriksen. The Welsh outfit have the Premier League’s leakiest defence, shipping 66 goals this term. Teams conceding that amount at this stage in past seasons have all been relegated. But Swansea will be boosted by the return of top scorer Fernando Llorente, who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. “Fernando gives us a different kind of game,” added Olsson. “We like to cross the ball and he likes that service, so it will be a big bonus. “One result can flip the momentum and change how the table looks. This has not been a good run for us, but West Ham are on a bad one too so we have a big chance to get something.” Swansea head coach Clement has a selection dilemma ahead of the clash. Right-backs Kyle Naughton and Angel Rangel are injured so midfielder Leroy Fer could well be asked to fill that void.