West Ham to stay positive in high-stakes Tottenham game - Bilic

West Ham, who are 15th in the league, have kept three clean sheets in their last four league games and extended their unbeaten run to four games. They are seven points clear of the relegation zone after Saturday's goalless draw against Stoke City.

West Ham to stay positive in high-stakes Tottenham game - Bilic

(Reuters)





Tottenham will be targeting a win as they hope to keep the title race alive and cut leaders Chelsea's four-point advantage at the top.

With three games left, Bilic said that West Ham had to win to ease relegation fears.

"That game is always big, it's a derby, and it can't be just an ordinary game. Then, if you add to that that... they need points to stay in the race and we need points to climb or to make us safe," Bilic told the club's website(www.whufc.com).

"We're going to approach it in a very positive way... knowing we are playing, for me, against the best team in the league."

Bilic said that his players must be at their best on Friday to replicate last season's 1-0 home victory against Tottenham.

"Hopefully I'm going to enjoy it, but it's going to be a very nervous game. We will have to be on top of our game... But we did it last year, beating them at home, when they were also on fire and everything."

Striker Andy Carroll could return against Tottenham after an injury disrupted season where he made just 22 appearances for the club, scoring seven times.

"I will be very disappointed if he is not involved in our next game," Bilic said.

"You want to have him at least on the bench, because it gives a lift to the team as we are lacking goals... and it looked, at one stage of the season, that he would be OK and all that.

"It's not coincidence that during that period we won six out of nine, then suddenly we are without him."





(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world