‘A little bit dirty’ – Bilic wants gloves off amid claim West Brom job is in danger
Slaven Bilic has urged his players to get “more streetwise, a little bit dirty” as he looks to turn a corner at West Brom.
The Baggies slumped into the bottom three on Monday night after losing 2-0 to Fulham.
There’s now speculation over his future with The Telegraph claiming a bad defeat against Tottenham at the weekend could seal his fate.
The Croatian spoke to Express and Star, inferring that his team looked timid at Fulham.
“At Fulham, we looked like a team who are good on the ball but who don’t want to hurt the opponents,” Bilic said.
“As soon as they scored you saw them winning second balls and growing in the game. You saw them quicker, sharper and stronger in the air.
“We have to be more mature, more streetwise, a little bit dirty. I agree, we are too nice.”
Not just the players
West Brom’s next two fixtures are no easy feat as they face Spurs on Sunday, followed by Manchester United’s visit to the Hawthorns after the international break.
Will Bilic still be in charge after these two games?
Outplayed and seemingly out of ideas on Monday, West Brom were run ragged at Craven Cottage with Reid’s header and Aina’s wonder strike gifting Fulham an invaluable three points and leaving Bilic on the edge.
He will be hoping that this is not a case of deja-vu, as his fateful final season as boss of West Ham seems to be aligning.
In the same seven opening games for West Ham, his Hammers side shipped 17 goals which is only one more than West Brom.
We’re happy for the players to play with more spirit but we’re not sure they’re the only ones to blame for the situation that Bilic finds himself in.
In other News, ‘Huge decision’ – John Percy delivers major update on Bilic future