Slav: “Stop playing as if it’s basketball”

Slaven Bilic has told his first team squad  to stop treating home games like ‘basketball’ matches.

The Hammers have picked up just one win at Upton Park this season and four on the road with palce joining Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City on the killing floor!

And Bilic said: “We don’t say ‘away we are going to play like this, and at home we are going to play like this.

“But sometimes you have to change.

“We will try to win our home games and maintain our away form, but it’s more that we started sloppily in a couple of home games.

“At home sometimes we are playing like it’s basketball and you have a limit of 24 seconds to finish your move, and you are forcing the situation too early. Away we are a little bit more patient, but at home not patient enough.”

The Selhurst Park victory saw Bilic’s men go fourth in the Premier League and they are now unbeaten in six, but the Croatian is keen not to get carried away.

He stated: “At the club we have no expectations.”

“You can’t stop the fans’ (expectations) – unless you start losing, and that is not what we want.

“But our target is to stay in the league. It’s early days, not late May. Our target is to play good football , to be solid, defend and attack with numbers and keep the ball, score more goals and get more points.

“Where we will finish, I don’t know! But it should be good.”