Slaven Bilic plots plan with two West Ham legends as pressure mounts on Graham Potter

Slaven Bilic wants to return to West Ham and lead the club to safety – and the former Hammers boss is ready to embrace two club legends to help the club turn things around.

Bilic is already on West Ham’s shortlist if they choose to replace under-pressure manager Graham Potter after a disastrous start to the season. Ex-Croatia boss Bilic is open to the chance to go back to his beloved Hammers where is still hugely respected by the fans.

And he would be open to taking the job on a caretaker basis if West Ham decide to make a change for the rest of the season. Bilic would also look to work with West Ham’s sporting director Mark Noble, who is known as Mr West Ham, and the pair know each other from working and playing together.

Bilic would also look to bring ex-West Ham defender James Collins, another fans’ favourite, into his backroom staff to help change the mood.

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Potter is under mounting pressure after managing just one win from their opening five Premier League games which leaves them second from bottom and facing a relegation scrap. West Ham have looked at former Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo who is out of work after his departure from the City Ground.

Nuno did a brilliant job at Forest as he led them to safety - and then into Europe. They are believed to have held talks and Nuno is understood to be interested. Former Wolves boss Gary O’Neil and ex-Everton manager Sean Dyche are other contenders with West Ham now considering making a change.

Potter looks on borrowed time whether it is this week or during the next international break. Bilic, 57, would be a hugely popular choice with the fans who are already in uproar about the leadership and hierarchy of the club.

Thousands staged a protest before Saturday’s defeat to Crystal Palace which turned up the heat on Potter and put the spotlight on the hierarchy who are under pressure to make a change.

Bilic guided West Ham to a seventh-place finish in their last season at the Boleyn Ground nine years ago, qualifying for the Europa League play-offs. The Croatian left midway during the 2017-18 campaign - but he is keen to come back, having most recently coached Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh, whom he left in August 2024.

He is also willing to accept the role on a caretaker basis and has spent the past month forensically studying analysis of the first team and youth team as part of his determination to immediately drag West Ham up the table.

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