Bilic explains why he broke Payet news!

Slaven Bilic has thrown a lot more light on his decision to open up on the Dimitri Payet Affair explaining why he decided to let the news out at his presser ahead of the Palace match

Writing in his weekly column for the London Evening Standard, Bilic said: ‘This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now.

‘Two days ago, he and I had a meeting. I won’t disclose what was said, but I was left in no doubt as to his intentions.

‘Yesterday, just before the normal pre-match press conference, I asked Dimitri one more time: ‘Are you standing by what you said a couple of days ago or have you thought more about it?’

‘He replied that he was standing by his decision, so that was that. The right thing to do then was to tell the supporters and the players what was happening and I informed the squad later that morning, before we began training.

‘It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday’s match without him.’

‘Many times over the years, clubs have lost quality players but gained a team. There is no point in saying we won’t miss Dimitri Payet because the fans know — we know — that he is a great player.

‘What I mean, though, is, for example, when a team has a player sent off, somehow that often gives the rest of the players more energy, they dig deeper.’