Slaven Bilic has lifted the lid on what Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero told him about West Ham United’s stadium move.
Many West Ham fans were – and some remain – unhappy with the London Stadium since the big move to Stratford from Upton Park in 2016.
The major bones of contention are the distance from the stands to the pitch and between the upper and lower tiers.
Many Hammers supporters feel the bowl-shaped London Stadium is not a proper football ground conducive to a generating the kind of intimidating atmosphere their beloved Boleyn Ground was famous for.
With time – and the settling down of matchday routines – most West Ham fans have slowly but surely come to terms with the move.
Bilic on what Rooney and Aguero told him about West Ham move
Although poor atmospheres in recent games against Everton, Olympiacos and Forest were more down to some of the football being played rather than the stadium.
West Ham have struggled to make London Stadium their home on the pitch until the arrival of David Moyes.
And the man he succeeded at West Ham in his first spell thinks he knows why.
Slaven Bilic has lifted the lid on what Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero told him about the West Ham stadium move.
West Ham lost fear factor for top stars
Speaking to The Coaches’ Voice, Bilic – who oversaw the transition from the Boleyn to Stratford – has revealed the contrasting views of Rooney and Aguero about playing at Upton Park and the London Stadium.
“It was a special season (2015/16), too, because it was the last one at the historic Boleyn Ground,” Bilic said.
“The last game there, a 3-2 win against Manchester United under the floodlights, will live with me forever.
“But I am even more proud of our second season at West Ham, because that was so difficult. People say: “First season you were seventh, second season you were 11th. It’s a blow, a disaster!” Nowadays people make comments without going deep into the issue. Go deeper, and you find what we had to deal with.
‘West Ham away? Oh my God’
“The club changed the training ground, from Chadwell Heath to Rush Green. At the same time, we changed the stadium, too. West Ham definitely benefited from that, but it needed time to settle.
“The Olympic Stadium was more like an arena. It was like going from a dirty, popular pub to a fancy bar in Mayfair. A lot of people are not comfortable in bars, they are comfortable in pubs. You need time to get used to it.
“I spoke with Wayne Rooney when I was at West Brom, and he told me at Manchester United they used to say: “Who are we playing next? West Ham away? Oh my God.” They didn’t look forward to going there, it was a bit intimidating.
“But when we played at the Olympic Stadium, I saw Sergio Aguero an hour and a half before the game, looking around. He couldn’t wait to play a game there.”
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