Slaven Bilic reveals what David Sullivan ‘told me’ as he opens up on West Ham talks

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Slaven Bilic really was a leading contender to take over from Graham Potter at West Ham United, it appears, before David Sullivan green-lit the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo instead.

Chief football correspondent Graeme Bailey told Hammers News back in September, a week or so before that home defeat by Crystal Palace brought about the end for Potter, that Bilic was being considered for an emotional homecoming at the London Stadium.

A real fan favourite in the east of the capital despite a difficult end to his two year spell as West Ham United’s head coach, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook would later reveal that a power struggle had emerged between David Sullivan and Karren Brady.

Brady held talks with Nuno. Sullivan wanted Bilic back at the Hammers.

Now, with things finally looking up following successive Premier League wins against Newcastle and Burnley, the 57-year-old Croatian confirms that he did indeed come ‘close’ to re-joining the club with whom he led to a record Premier League points haul in 2015/16.

Bilic also shed a light on the power usually afforded to managers at the London Stadium. Specifically, with regards to the transfer market.

Slaven Bilic admits he lost out to Nuno Espirito Santo for the West Ham United job

Nuno signed a three-year deal on the same day that Potter’s dismissal was confirmed in late-September. In truth, the West Ham supporters never really embraced the idea of re-hiring the manager they sacked eight years earlier.

Especially when the club were putting out statements filled with promises such as ‘our focus now is firmly on the future’.

“There was a bit,” Bilic tells talkSPORT when asked if there was any truth to the reports that a West Ham reunion could have occurred. “I was close, or whatever, but I didn’t get the job. They got Nuno, who is a top manager, who did a great job at Wolves, not to mention Nottingham Forest.

“After the first couple of games, they were struggling with the system, with some players out of position. But the last couple of games, [Nuno] put out a strong team and it has clicked. Six points in two games.

“He is a top manager and I think they are going to be OK this season.”

Nuno was ‘delighted’ to see Callum Wilson score only his second league goal since joining from Newcastle over the summer. Tomas Soucek also found the net while creating Kyle Walker-Peters’ late clincher, two players the wrong side of 30 rolling back the years.

Bilic says David Sullivan gives managers the power to pick their transfers

The signings of Wilson and Walker-Peters, both on free transfers, saw plenty of frustration levelled towards the Hammers board. Yet, Bilic insists that Sullivan tends to stay in the shadows and let his managers have the final say on recruitment.

Hammers News have already revealed that the West Ham bosses have granted Nuno plenty of power, alongside his agent Jorge Mendes, when it comes to potential January additions.

“When I was there, it was seven, eight years ago, and the world of football has changed,” adds Bilic, who presided over additions such as Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini. “Before, you had a manager and you had an owner. Now, you have more head coaches.

“But when I was there, we had Tony Henry, who was head of recruitment. I remember David Sullivan and, at that time, David Gold, what they told me. Before I signed the contract, they told me, ‘you are the decision maker’.

“‘Of course, it depends on finances but, if we agree on finances, it’s you [responsible for choosing signings]. Out of seven or eight transfers, you are doing basically six of them’.

“I remember David Sullivan once told me that, occasionally, every couple of years, he likes to get one striker you know. Not the first choice, maybe third or whatever. But it’s [on the manager].

“Sometimes, you are not happy with the budget, alright, we can talk about that. But the manager or head coach at West Ham, he is in charge.”

Bilic wants a Premier League or Championship return

Slaven Bilic was linked with the Rangers job recently too, before the Scottish Premiership giants appointed Danny Rohl instead.

The former Croatia, Watford and West Brom coach is determined to return to management at some point in the near future though, preferably in either the first or second tiers of English football.

“Who doesn’t [want to manage in the Premier League]?” Bilic asks rhetorically. “Of course, I am very excited about the possibility of returning to management, in the Premier League or at a big club in the Championship that has ambitions to go up.

“I think I proved myself in the Premier League and also at West Brom. I think, with my experience, I will be able to steer the right club into the Premier League.”