Slaven Bilic gave Dimitri Payet final chance to change mind
Saturday 14 January 2017 10:44, UK
Slaven Bilic gave Dimitri Payet one last chance to change his mind about refusing to play for West Ham before going public.
Bilic revealed that Payet had been banished from first-team training at his press conference on Thursday.
The midfielder, one of the stars of last season’s Premier League campaign, is refusing to play - Sky sources understand he is claiming a back injury means he is unfit - and wants to return to France.
And Bilic confirmed that he checked that Payet felt the same way on Thursday, just before he faced the nation’s media.
Bilic wrote in his Evening Standard column: "This situation with Dimitri has been developing for a little while now. 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."
Bilic admits that he would love to have the France international available but must now plan for life without him.
"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 said.
"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."
