Slaven Bilic accepted his morning sacking from West Ham in precisely the manner most would have expected – with grace understanding and not a bad vibe in sight.

The former Hammers central defender insisted there was absolutely no ill will declaring himself unsurprised by the sequence of events.

In the announcement formally acknowledging what most already knew the club said: “West Ham United can confirm that Slaven Bilic has today left his position with the Club.

The Chairmen and board of West Ham United would like to place on record their thanks and gratitude to Slaven and his team for their services over the past two-and-a-half years, but believe a change is now necessary in order for the Club to move forward positively and in line with their ambition.

West Ham United can confirm that Bilic’s coaching assistants Nikola Jurcevic, Edin Terzic, Julian Dicks and Miljenko Rak have also left the Club with immediate effect.”

The Club’s search for a new manager to take West Ham United forward is underway and an announcement regarding Bilic’s successor is expected to be made over the coming days.

He sad: ” “I expected it. There are no hard feelings.

“I can be very proud of my work here.

“We didn’t start this crucial season well. As in many clubs across Europe, the manager is the one who pays the price.

“It’s a very logical move. The fans were brilliant to me from the start until the end.”