Slaven Bilic hinted that Michail Antonio could again lead the line at Goodison Park agreeing that he had made a good case for himself.
Speaking at his morning presser he said:“He was really good and that’s why we put him there. He did everything we hoped and expected that he would do.
“He used the space behind and it’s very hard to mark him in such a big space. Also, he’s very strong. He did excellently in that game, to be fair.”
Slav also said that Andre Ayew was close to starting saying: “He is very close. It was crucial [for him to get some game-time], because he had a long break from the first game of the season, and it’s great to have him back.
He’s been training with the group for a couple of weeks now and came on and did really good against Chelsea. He looked fit and aggressive, so it’s great to have him back.”
Having refused to talk about the Stadium troubles he said: “ I’m trying to get the focus back on the team! We are playing good at the moment. Those three wins – two in the league and one in the cup – we have to build on.
“We are positive but we are expecting an extremely difficult game on Sunday. If we continue to play like this and improve, then we have a chance.”
He doesn’t believe the players were affected by the events of the week saying: “ I think they have been totally motivated and fully concentrated on the game on Sunday.
“Don’t get me wrong, we really felt at home at the new Stadium with the crowd behind us in the game against Chelsea. It was loud, so we had great support, apart from that thing, of course.
“The Club didn’t deserve it, the players definitely didn’t deserve it and the vast majority of fans didn’t deserve it, of course.”
Intereating article by Martin Samuels in the Mail today..
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3880214/After-trouble-West-Ham-against-Chelsea-don-t-blame-stadium-blame-hooligan-fans.html
Just heard McCarthy’s not fit. Dimi might be safe then.