Only one full season with West Ham as a player was enough for former central defender Slaven Bilić to attain legend status among Hammers fans. As a result, his return to the club as manager has largely been met with positive sentiment. But Bilić has already courted controversy after West Ham’s first win since his arrival.
Rather than take charge for West Ham’s first competitive game of the season, a Europa League qualifier against Andorran minnows v, Bilić chose to watch on from the stands as West Ham academy director Terry Westley took charge instead on Thursday night.
West Ham did emerge as strong 3-0 winners in the UK football results last night (2 July 2015), but Bilić’s decision to sit out is understandably odd, especially given the response of Lusitanos manager Xavi Roura, who clearly felt disrespected. Roura sarcastically described Bilić as ‘the special one’ in a post-game interview.