Slaven Bilic says players as good as Dimitri Payet do not need time to adjust
Friday 18 September 2015 14:50, UK
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic believes players as good as Dimitri Payet do not need a settling-in period.
Payet moved to Upton Park from Marseille in June for just over £10m and has been one of the stars of West Ham's season so far, scoring three goals in his first five Premier League games.
The Frenchman has already been labelled as one of the bargains of the summer, but Bilic is not surprised at all by how quickly the 28-year-old has settled in.
"Some players need some time, but in England you talk too much about separating Premier League from other leagues," said Bilic.
"There is not so much talk about players moving from France to Germany, France to Italy, Italy to France. They don't talk about is he going to make it? How much time does he needs to adapt to the Premier League?
"It's not his first move, he played for Lille, Saint-Etienne, Marseille - Marseille is an extremely big club, with big pressure and big responsibility.
"He is still not settled completely, but he is such a class player and a good man, good professional."
West Ham have had an encouraging start to the season and currently sit fifth in the table. They travel to league leaders Manchester City on Saturday, hoping to extend their success.
I would be very disappointed if we don't play good, or don't get anything from the game.
Away wins at Liverpool and Arsenal can give the Hammers belief at the Etihad Stadium, but City will offer a stern test, having won all five of their games so far without conceding a single goal.
"We're going to have to be as solid or even more as concentrated together as we were against Liverpool and Arsenal," Bilic said.
"It's going to be more up to them how the game is going to be played because they have that quality. But we are confident. Some people say it's a bonus game for West Ham, it's not a bonus game.
"I would be very disappointed if we don't play good, or don't get anything from the game."
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