Not so long ago, a hatful of names were being considered for Nuno Espírito Santo’s West Ham United job if the club were relegated into the Championship. Few supporters would have expected the Portuguese manager to have been retained this summer but, with events off the pitch creating a monumental shift in the board room, Nuno was seen as the ‘stability candidate’ as the resignations flowed and Kretinsky kept him on when, apparently, Sullivan had been for sacking him.
One of the other candidates being mentioned just a few months ago was former West Ham manager Slaven Bilic.
Super Slav oversaw West Ham’s last season at the Boleyn Ground – finishing seventh in the Premier League – and was seen as a safe pair of hands ..until 2017 whenSullivan sacked him with the club mired nearer the foot of the table just a season later.
Bilic was in consideration, apparently, had Nuno have been fired in May.
In the end, Nuno stayed on and Bilic took the Croatia job – with alarming consequences after last night’s seven-nil home humbling by England.
The humiliating result puts the former Hammers defender and manager in a precarious position as his side now sit third in their Nations League group.
For Croatia, that’s a national emergency.
Seven-goal humbling for former West Ham boss Bilic
“I’m sorry. We are disappointed. I’m sorry for the fans, I’m sorry for the children in the stands. I’m sorry for all Croatian fans. I have just been with the players, we spoke briefly, and it is the worst thing for us. We would never have expected it”
Perhaps West Ham fans will be re-appraising their head coach’s performances in the weeks to come: There but for BBC’s Panorama programme, it could be Bilic at the helm.
One of the better Westham managers, Least we played football under him, seen some dire stuff since.