Smashing Bilic turns the tables
SLAVEN BILIC says he will have to go to IKEA because he has whacked so many tables in anger this season.
West Ham’s relegation fears will almost be at an end if they win at bottom club Sunderland today.
But the Hammers’ first season at their new London Stadium home will still be remembered as a troubled one. Bilic’s job was on the line following five straight defeats before last week’s 1-0 win over Swansea.
And he lost his cool in February by throwing a TV microphone to the floor when his side let in a lastminute equaliser against West Brom. That earned him an £8,000 fine and the Croatian revealed the poor mic was not the only inanimate object to feel his wrath this term.
“Everything I do, whether before a game or half-time, I do it deliberately,” he said. “Even if I want to smash a table I do it with a plan.
“Sometimes my team talks are calm, sometimes they are less calm. But that’s the way I do it. Have I ever thrown a table around at half-time? I’ve had my moments, yes. How many tables have I got through this season? Well, put it this way, it looks like I’ll have to go to IKEA.”
Sunderland have to win to lift their fading chances of avoiding the drop and, as always, will look to Jermain Defoe for goals.
West Ham tried to buy him in January but the Black Cats refused. Bilic said: “We pushed, we tried but as soon as they said no that was it.”
One bright spot for Sunderland has been keeper Jordan Pickford, 23, who has taken to life in the top flight even quicker than Manchester United star David de Gea. An England call-up was followed this week by a nomination for the PFA Young Player of the Year award.
Boss David Moyes said: “For a young goalkeeper to do that in his first year in the Premier League takes some doing.
“Even David de Gea, who came from Spain – Sir Alex Ferguson had to keep persevering with De Gea.
“He had a bad year, but he kept persevering, kept playing him.
“I’ve got to say, Jordan has gone in and nearly not made any mistakes at all – and I am saying that touching wood.”