West Ham United

Slaven Bilic: 'West Ham United have enough leaders'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 19 May 2017

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic rejects suggestions that he will need to add more leaders to his squad during the upcoming transfer window.

West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has rejected suggestions that he will need to sign more leaders during the upcoming transfer window.

Hammers legend Sir Trevor Brooking suggested that the club should sign Manchester City full-back Pablo Zabaleta once the Argentine is out of contract at the Etihad Stadium, claiming that his leadership qualities would benefit the team.

However, Bilic insists that he already has plenty of players willing to step up and take responsibility and hinted that he would not be looking to add any more this summer.

"We have leaders on our team. We have good vocal leaders on our team and we also have a good core of British players who are leaders plus some foreigners who are skippers in their teams," he told reporters.

"They are also the reason why we made it in very difficult times. Every time that was difficult for us and we needed to show that character before a game, we did it.

"Starting with Mark Noble of course who is a great captain, [James] Collins, [Winston] Reid, [Andy] Carroll when he was there. Players like [Jose] Fonte who was captain of Southampton long enough in the Premier League, so we are good in that."

West Ham take on Burnley at Turf Moor on the final day of the season knowing that they need a win and a six-goal swing with Bournemouth to stand any chance of finishing in the top half.