The West Ham United man came under fire on the weekend.
West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has told The Independent that Adrian will remain as his first-choice goalkeeper, in spite of his error on the weekend.
The Irons drew 1-1 with Stoke City on Saturday, but the manner of West Ham’s point has prompted questions about the Spaniard’s long-term future as Bilic’s number one.
The 29-year-old came haring off his line needlessly with 15 minutes to go at the London Stadium in an incident which saw Bojan Krkic punish him by equalising.
The Croatian manager has the very capable Darren Randolph in reserve, and there had already been questions about Adrian prior to that clanger.
But although Bilic acknowledges that it was a “big mistake”, he says that Adrian will remain as his number-one keeper for future games.
He told The Independent: “He is my number one for sure. I’ve got no concerns about his form. Okay, the goal was a big mistake from him. He misjudged the ball. Maybe it was obvious from the touchline he was not going to get the ball.
“There was not any reason for him to go there; it was far away from goal and we had it covered. It’s a mistake but we should not forget how many times he has been a key man for us.
“I’ve always said we have a couple of really good goalkeepers and it is a fact that you want your players, including Adrian, confident. He made one mistake, that happens. He knows he made a mistake. But mistakes happen.”
West Ham fans were furious with Adrian because of what the goal represented – regression. The Hammers were closing in on a third victory in four games, having lost five of their first six Premier League matches, and Adrian’s error led to a big step backwards.
It is one step forward and two back for the Londoners at the moment and, due to the international break, they need to wait two weeks before they can attempt to bounce back.
And it is a visit to unbeaten Tottenham Hotspur which awaits them on November 19.
West Ham’s Adrian celebrates their first goal
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