Slaven Bilic speaks out for first time after West Brom sacking
Slaven Bilic has issued a statement for the first time following his West Brom sacking earlier this week.
Speaking exclusively to the Mail Online, Bilic has paid tribute to the club’s supporters and sends them his best wishes for the future.
On his West Brom departure, he said: “I am hugely disappointed to have left West Bromwich Albion.
“I am honoured to have managed this unique football club with full commitment and integrity. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to all the players, my hard-working coaching team and our dedicated staff.
“I am incredibly proud that we secured automatic promotion from the Championship in our first season.
“It was a real shame to not have our loyal supporters there with us during that moment and upon our return to the Premier League.”
Bilic was sacked on Thursday following the club’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City that leaves them two points from safety.
The club acted quickly to confirm former England manager Sam Allardyce as his replacement, who will now be tasked with keeping the Baggies in the Premier League.
A sour end to Bilic’s reign
When looking at West Brom’s season as a whole, there should not be too many complaints that Bilic was sacked.
The Baggies are currently stuck inside the bottom three, having won just once this season.
While they have picked up four draws along the way, the club missed big opportunities to take points off Premier League rivals like Newcastle and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
Prior to the City draw, Albion had taken just three points from their last six league games.
However, to have the news leaked on the night where Bilic’s side have just taken a well-earned and hard-fought point against Manchester City did not sit well with many supporters.
The handling of the sacking and the timing of Allardyce’s appointment – which came just hours after Bilic’s departure was confirmed – did not help the mood among supporters and goes some way to explaining the outcry of emotion in favour of the Croatian.
In other West Brom news, Allardyce needs consistency from Baggies star who found perfect balance v City
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