West Ham United went into the international break by lifting themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone by beating Swansea City.
Alan Pardew has told The Daily Mail that Slaven Bilic showed some bravery and proved the West Ham fans wrong with his substitutions during the Hammers’ narrow win over Swansea City at the weekend.
The Hammers went into the game in the relegation zone having won just one of his first six Premier League games. And as they faced a Swans side equally out of form, Bilic would have known that anything less than a win would have seen the pressure piled upon him going into the international break.
And for a long time, it appeared that the Irons would not bag that all important win as the contest reached the final 15 minutes with the deadlock still not broken.
It looked set to be another extremely frustrating afternoon for the West Ham fans
Bilic then incurred the wrath of many fans by deciding to replace Javier Hernandez and Andre Ayew with Diafra Sakho and Arthur Masuaku 12 minutes from time – and several supporters made their thoughts felt by booing the decision.
But the decision was vindicated in incredible fashion as Masuaku’s brilliant run and cross found Sakho at the back post in stoppage-time, and the striker took the opportunity to find the back of the net for the game’s only goal.
And former West Ham boss Pardew has praised Bilic for the bravery that he showed by making the double substitution before adding that he proved the supporters wrong with the decision.
“As a manager you have got to be brave and have the courage of your convictions. Slaven Bilic was getting a bit of stick from the West Ham fans when he substituted striker Javier Hernandez late on when his side were drawing 0-0 at home to Swansea,” he told the Daily Mail.
“Hernandez is a fans’ favourite and you can never accuse him of lacking energy or commitment. Some fans would have been thinking: ‘Blimey, what is Bilic doing?’, however his two substitutes then combined for Diafro Sakho to score a last-minute winner.
“Sometimes a manager can spot something the fans can’t, and see an area of weakness to be exploited.”
While Bilic appears to have removed some of the pressure off his shoulders, West Ham’s first three games following the break could be crucial because, on paper, the Hammers fans will be expecting to see the team take a solid amount of points from a run which includes facing Burnley, Brighton and Crystal Palace before a much tougher run of games – again, on paper – during November and December.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
