Slaven Bilic insisted the Hammers cannot afford to get away with their fantastic start
Slaven Bilic insisted no one inside West Ham United is getting carried away with his side’s fantastic start to the season.
The Croatian has more than proved his credentials as the Hammers have taken the Premier League by storm.
Following deserved wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, the Irons added champions Chelsea to their list of high profile scalps, with a 2-1 victory last Saturday.
Reflecting on their remarkable start, Bilic maintained that his side could not afford to allow their performance levels to drop ahead of the trip to Watford: “We are only a quarter of the way through the season. To be honest, I don’t even think about football like that. One quarter, so what? All we want to do is concentrate on the next game.
“If we drop (our level of performance), by even 5% then we are in trouble. We have to be in what I call the red zone all the time, we can never be in the comfort zone, and it can take ages to get out of it. So we can never be carried away.
“Only when it is five games to the end of the season or so that we can concentrate on the league positions.”
While Bilic is acutely aware of the long season ahead, his team are now six league games unbeaten and he stressed the amount of confidence this run has been generated.
“Of all the wins, after the Crystal Palace game I was the happiest. The win over Chelsea is a bit different because it was at home, against the Champions.
“There is nothing wrong in gaining the confidence from winning. We still have to be ready for every game, and make sure we reproduce the same when we play Watford. If we can maintain it, every game, then we have a chance against anyone.
“We have the momentum, which is important, it comes out of good training, good players, good system and individual class but it can also disappear in a moment.”
The Croatian has more than proved his credentials as the Hammers have taken the Premier League by storm.
Following deserved wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, the Irons added champions Chelsea to their list of high profile scalps, with a 2-1 victory last Saturday.
Reflecting on their remarkable start, Bilic maintained that his side could not afford to allow their performance levels to drop ahead of the trip to Watford: “We are only a quarter of the way through the season. To be honest, I don’t even think about football like that. One quarter, so what? All we want to do is concentrate on the next game.
“If we drop (our level of performance), by even 5% then we are in trouble. We have to be in what I call the red zone all the time, we can never be in the comfort zone, and it can take ages to get out of it. So we can never be carried away.
“Only when it is five games to the end of the season or so that we can concentrate on the league positions.”
While Bilic is acutely aware of the long season ahead, his team are now six league games unbeaten and he stressed the amount of confidence this run has been generated.
“Of all the wins, after the Crystal Palace game I was the happiest. The win over Chelsea is a bit different because it was at home, against the Champions.
“There is nothing wrong in gaining the confidence from winning. We still have to be ready for every game, and make sure we reproduce the same when we play Watford. If we can maintain it, every game, then we have a chance against anyone.
“We have the momentum, which is important, it comes out of good training, good players, good system and individual class but it can also disappear in a moment.”