David Sullivan admits West Ham should’ve parted company with Slaven Bilic in the summer

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West Ham United have replaced Slaven Bilic with David Moyes this week with the Hammers falling into the Premier League relegation zone.

David Sullivan has told The Sun that it was a relief to let Slaven Bilic go as manager of West Ham, and admitted that he probably should have looked to part company with the Croatian in the summer.

Bilic was sacked on Monday in the wake of their heavy defeat to Liverpool at the London Stadium at the weekend that has left the Hammers going into the international break in the bottom three in the Premier League with the worst defensive record of any side in the top flight.

Despite his popularity amongst the supporters and the good work that he did during his first year in the dugout, Bilic’s departure seemed inevitable and was a decision that was accepted by the majority of the supporters – though the announcement of his replacement was not met with the same levels of approval, it seems.

And Sullivan has suggested that it was probably a mistake to not dismiss the 49-year-old during the summer.

“We had to make a change. His eyes had gone — and the fight had gone,” he told The Sun.

“When I told him, it was almost a relief. It had run its course. He wants to be liked, but we need to win football matches.

“I probably should have made the change in the summer, but we decided to wait. Slaven is worn out.”

Though Sullivan has suggested that Bilic should have gone a few months ago, it would have arguably seemed an unfair decision at the time given that he had to contend with the Irons moving out of Upton Park and with the Dimitri Payet saga that cast a shadow over much of the campaign.