Slaven Bilic admitted mistakes at vital times had cost West Ham United as they slumped to a 4-1 derby defeat at Tottenham Hotspur
Slaven Bilic apologised to West Ham United supporters after watching his side finish up 4-1 Barclays Premier League losers at Tottenham Hotspur.
The manager admitted his team had been second best in all departments at White Hart Lane, where two mistakes set Spurs on their way to a comfortable victory.
The Hammers snatched a late consolation goal through Manuel Lanzini, but Bilic told West Ham TV he was sorry for the ribbing the Claret and Blue Army will take from their Tottenham-supporting work colleagues or schoolmates on Monday morning.
“Of course I want to apologise to them because it’s a special kind of game and tomorrow it’s not going to be very good for our fans to go to work with the Spurs teasing them and all that,” the manager stated.
“First, I want to apologise to them and second I want to promise them that we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to prepare for a game against West Brom and we’re going to be back on the winning track.”
On a cold Sunday afternoon in north London, Bilic’s team froze after a bright-ish start, falling behind to Harry Kane’s strike on 23 minutes after Dele Alli’s shot had been blocked into his path. Cheikhou Kouyate then thumped the crossbar with a scissor-kick before the unmarked Toby Alderweireld’s header made it 2-0.
James Tomkins’ errant pass allowed Christian Eriksen to set up Kane for Spurs’ third five minutes into the second half before Kyle Walker added a fourth with a well-placed finish, rendering Lanzini’s late rocket a mere consolation.
The manager admitted his team had been second best in all departments at White Hart Lane, where two mistakes set Spurs on their way to a comfortable victory.
The Hammers snatched a late consolation goal through Manuel Lanzini, but Bilic told West Ham TV he was sorry for the ribbing the Claret and Blue Army will take from their Tottenham-supporting work colleagues or schoolmates on Monday morning.
“Of course I want to apologise to them because it’s a special kind of game and tomorrow it’s not going to be very good for our fans to go to work with the Spurs teasing them and all that,” the manager stated.
“First, I want to apologise to them and second I want to promise them that we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to prepare for a game against West Brom and we’re going to be back on the winning track.”
On a cold Sunday afternoon in north London, Bilic’s team froze after a bright-ish start, falling behind to Harry Kane’s strike on 23 minutes after Dele Alli’s shot had been blocked into his path. Cheikhou Kouyate then thumped the crossbar with a scissor-kick before the unmarked Toby Alderweireld’s header made it 2-0.
James Tomkins’ errant pass allowed Christian Eriksen to set up Kane for Spurs’ third five minutes into the second half before Kyle Walker added a fourth with a well-placed finish, rendering Lanzini’s late rocket a mere consolation.
First, I want to apologise to them and second I want to promise them that we’re going to bounce back and we’re going to prepare for a game against West Brom and we’re going to be back on the winning track
Having had two weeks to prepare his squad – albeit one without the injured Dimitri Payet and Enner Valencia – for the derby, Bilic could not hide his disappointment.
“I cannot pretend I am not disappointed because I am and the dressing room is very, very quiet, of course,” he explained. “We are all disappointed and it simply wasn’t us. We didn’t play good.
“We started OK and had some points where we were good around their box. They were pressing and are good in that and scored a goal from their first chance with a bit of luck, but we were too deep in that situation and invited them to be close to our goal a lot of times, and then there’s always a risk you will make a mistake.
“To be fair, the second goal was a cheap one from the corner. At half-time I said we were not happy but we were still in the game and I was expecting us to bounce back and score a goal, then it is still open, big time.
“Their third goal obviously killed us in that moment and after that unfortunately, we have to be happy with 4-1, which is a very, very bad result, especially against Spurs in a derby game.”
At least two of Tottenham’s goals could have been avoided with better concentration from the Hammers, but Bilic was not making any excuses for his side’s defeat.
“We can say that and we can say we hit the post after they scored the first and their third was a big mistake from an individual error, but they had a couple more chances in the first half so they could have had four goals at half-time,” he said, honestly.
“I have no excuses for this performance. We have to say they were much better than us.
“On one hand, we’re going to analyse this game. On the other hand, we’re going to put this game to bed as soon as possible and prepare for our next game.”
Bilic and West Ham will seek to end their three-match winless run when they host West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday 29 November.
“I cannot pretend I am not disappointed because I am and the dressing room is very, very quiet, of course,” he explained. “We are all disappointed and it simply wasn’t us. We didn’t play good.
“We started OK and had some points where we were good around their box. They were pressing and are good in that and scored a goal from their first chance with a bit of luck, but we were too deep in that situation and invited them to be close to our goal a lot of times, and then there’s always a risk you will make a mistake.
“To be fair, the second goal was a cheap one from the corner. At half-time I said we were not happy but we were still in the game and I was expecting us to bounce back and score a goal, then it is still open, big time.
“Their third goal obviously killed us in that moment and after that unfortunately, we have to be happy with 4-1, which is a very, very bad result, especially against Spurs in a derby game.”
At least two of Tottenham’s goals could have been avoided with better concentration from the Hammers, but Bilic was not making any excuses for his side’s defeat.
“We can say that and we can say we hit the post after they scored the first and their third was a big mistake from an individual error, but they had a couple more chances in the first half so they could have had four goals at half-time,” he said, honestly.
“I have no excuses for this performance. We have to say they were much better than us.
“On one hand, we’re going to analyse this game. On the other hand, we’re going to put this game to bed as soon as possible and prepare for our next game.”
Bilic and West Ham will seek to end their three-match winless run when they host West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday 29 November.