West Ham striker Marko Arnautovic has admitted that he let Slaven Bilic down a little bit.
In an interview with The Guardian, Arnautovic said that he does not believe he was the reason Bilic was sacked but accepted a role in the ex-manager’s downfall.
Bilic signs Arnautovic
Arnautovic became West Ham’s record signing in summer 2017. He arrived from Stoke City for £24m.
But his career in East London got off to a disastrous start when he was sent off for elbowing Southampton’s Jack Stephens in just his second game. A three match ban followed and Arnautovic struggled to get going.
By the time West Ham sacked Bilic in November, the Austria international had not scored a goal or registered an assist.
Arnautovic has now admitted that he let Bilic down somewhat, although he does not want to take the blame for the former Croatia manager’s sacking.
He said: “It would be harsh to say he was sacked because of me. Maybe there were a couple of occasions when I let him down.”
Arnautovic respects Bilic and feels bad for letting him down after much faith was placed in him with a big money move.
Arnie added: “I have a lot of respect for Slaven. I love him as a human being and as a coach. I let him down a little bit and I think he thought that as well. When he saw me playing as a striker and scoring goals, it wasn’t easy for him.”
Arnautovic under Moyes
Arnautovic was a new man under David Moyes. Playing in a central striker role and forced to run, the 29-year-old scored 11 goals to keep West Ham up.
On Moyes, Arnautovic added: “Moyes got it into my mind to work hard, run as much as you can and the other things will come. I think he was impressed with my stats, because we had how many sprints you make and I was always up there.
“He said when he came that he thought I couldn’t run and I said: ‘It’s not true, I can run and I think I am quite quick.’ I showed him.”
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