West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic has said that the situation with wantaway attacker Dimitri Payet has been "developing for a little while now".
The 29-year-old has refused to play for the Hammers as he attempts to push through a transfer out of the London Stadium this window, with former club Marseille and Premier League duo Chelsea and Liverpool all thought to be plotting bids.
Bilic revealed Payet's stance in a press conference on Thursday morning and now, in a column for the Evening Standard, he has admitted that he knew it was coming.
"This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now," he wrote. "Two days ago, he and I had a meeting. I won't disclose what was said, but I was left in no doubt as to his intentions.
"Yesterday, just before the normal pre-match press conference, I asked Dimitri one more time, 'Are you standing by what you said a couple of days ago or have you thought more about it?' He replied that he was standing by his decision, so that was that. The right thing to do then was to tell the supporters and the players what was happening and I informed the squad later that morning, before we began training.
"It has left me sad, angry, but at the moment Dimitri has said he will not play for the club, so I have no alternative but to plan for Saturday's match without him. He will not train with the rest of the squad and the club's position remains consistent, which is that he is not for sale.
"It would be much, much better if this had not happened and that he had remained committed to West Ham, but that is not the case, so life goes on."
The Frenchman still has four-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with the Hammers, which comes with a weekly wage of £125,000.
Neil Wilkes
