West Ham United are expected to name former centre-back Slaven Bilic as their next boss in the next 24 hours, with Argentinian Marcelo Bielsa seemingly the Croat’s only competition for the role.
However, Bielsa is currently seen as very much an outsider for the role.
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Bilic is highly-rated as a boss, mostly from his time managing his national team. He has reportedly already held in-depth talks with the clubs hierarchy and is expected to be announced as the next Hammers boss.
Mixed
He has enjoyed mixed fortunes in his managerial career so far. His spell in charge of Croatia was deemed a success and he left the position with his head held high. However his record in club management is not great.
The 46-year-old was sacked by Russian top-flight side Lokomotiv Moscow after just a season, following the club finishing ninth in the Russian top-flight, which was their lowest finish in 20 years.
His two years at Besiktas have also been full of ups and downs. The Turkish side finished third in their domestic league this season and missed out on a Champions League qualification spot for next season.
Character
Bilic is regarded as a bit of a character, as the 46-year-old has a law degree and is also a member of a Croatian rock band.
He is certainly more colourful than his predecessor big Sam Allardyce. Let’s just hope for the sake of West Ham fans his style of football is also a big more entertaining.
Is Slaven Bilic the right man for the West Ham job?
