- Manager says goals conceded to Bournemouth and Leicester are down to individual errors rather than his team being too open
- Boss praises team for their efforts in bringing the scoreline back to 3-2 against the Foxes
- Bilic insists clean sheets will soon follow for the Hammers as they look to climb back into the Premier League top half
Slaven Bilic does not believe his West Ham United team are far away from being the solid unit they aspire to be in their quest to climb back into the Premier League top half.
The manager may have watched his team concede three times for the second week in succession as Leicester City took maximum points from London Stadium, but the manager observed that the route to their goal came via individual errors rather than from a fundamental issue with their defending.
The boss is keen to cut them out and says that when they do the clean sheets will soon follow.
He explained: “We weren’t open in that first half. We’re not talking about counter-attacking, and four-against-three. We’re talking about the first goal, we were behind [the ball], we had enough players, it’s more a cross than a shot.
“It’s a mistake from us, and then we’re talking about two set pieces that we have to do better from.
“They did a trick on the first one, of course we all expect them to put the ball straight in from that position, but they decided to make a combination.
“We tried to block it, but they made a cross. Yes, it’s a mistake by our player, but mistakes happen.
I’m not happy that we have to go behind to [show what we're about], but the training is really, really good and the intensity is high
Slaven Bilic
"We’ve scored a lot of goals from set pieces ourselves this season – and on Saturday. We came back really well in the game, but it’s difficult to come back from 3-1, even though we deserved it with the number of chances we had in the second half.
“The intensity in training is really good. You can’t call us a team who is not fit, because in almost every game we finish better than the opponent.
“I’m not happy that we have to go behind to do it, but the training is really, really good and the intensity is high.
“It’s very hard to defend a situation when it’s 2-0 after seven minutes. No problem, that’s my job. We are preparing them to be focused, but at set pieces its enough for one player to lose their man, or they make a block, or you give credit to that player who is better in the air at that moment than your player.”