Bilic happy with squad’s attitude

Slaven Bilic has made it clear that he has been more than happy with the response from his players after last week’s Arsenal humiliation.

The manager said: “I’ve had a great reaction from the players. You are disappointed, angry, frustrated but you have to get over it.”

He and the players are heading for Anfield in a positive mood but he warned: “No team can guarantee they aren’t going to concede a goal, no matter who you are playing against.

“We’ve had three clean sheets, against Bournemouth, against Sunderland and at Crystal Palace. You can’t be guaranteed a clean sheet but you have to have a clean sheet mentality.

“It’s my responsibility, because we can’t crumble. For me, ‘clean sheet’ is more about mentality because their guy can score from a free-kick or a great action, so 1-0 can’t be a clean sheet but you know what I’m talking about.”

Andy Carroll is set to play a part with the manager saying he has to be careful with the striker who played competitively for the first time in the Premier League last weekend.

And he said: “That’s a long break and we have three games and we need him in all three of them, but we can’t be that greedy. I would call it ‘naïve’ to expect him to last three full 90-minute games in one week, that would be crazy, but he feels good and he is fit.

“We’re going to use him, most definitely, in all three of them, because we need him in all three of them. Is he gonna start on Sunday? I don’t know!”

West Ham kick-off against Liverpool at 4.30 pm on Sunday, with the Premier League fixture being screened live on Sky Sports 1.