Slaven Bilic concerned by West Ham stars' international miles
Thursday 31 March 2016 14:57, UK
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic admits he is worried by this weekend's game against Crystal Palace having had so many of his players away on international duty.
The Hammers, who are just one point outside the Premier League's top four, saw seven members of their squad involved during the international break following the 2-2 draw against Chelsea on March 19.
Palace are without a league victory since mid-December and, despite being heavy favourites for the London derby, Bilic believes his squad's lack of preparation could be a major factor at Upton Park.
"This international break, on one hand we didn't want it because we had that momentum and we want things to continue and keep coming because we were buzzing," he said.
"On the other hand, because we played many games it was not bad for us, we rest a bit and we train hard and after that we rested again.
"Some players went to play international games, we are still not back totally and that is why this game against Crystal Palace is coming too soon.
"I'm not happy because we will not be all on the pitch, some of the guys are coming back tomorrow, this game on Saturday is worrying.
"Some players are coming back tomorrow - Cheikhou Kouyate, Victor Moses and Enner Valencia had a long trip, Dimitri Payet is back from France, it is not ideal but we will have to get back immediately into the shape that we were before the international break."
Despite his concerns, Bilic, who managed his native Croatia for six years, says he is always happy to see his players go off and represent their country.
"You don't have your players until a couple of days before a game - but I always welcome when my players are called for international duty," he said. "It gives them another dimension, it gives them confidence and they are more quality players than players not being called up.
"There are some pluses and some minuses, of course you would like your players to always be with you but if they are good players and you want them to improve and gain confidence and quality then you should be happy when they play for their country."
