Bilic not drawn on Hammers talk

Croatia boss walks out of press conference

By Mike Barton   Last updated: 22nd May 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Bilic not drawn on Hammers talk

Bilic: No West Ham talk

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Slaven Bilic has refused to talk about any speculation regarding the vacant managerial position at West Ham.

The Croatia boss has long been linked with a return to Upton Park, where he played during the mid-1990s as a centre-back and was a firm fans' favourite.

His successes in charge of Croatia, despite failing to qualify for this summer's World Cup, have seen him become a sought-after figure in football.

With Avram Grant also strongly linked with the role Gianfranco Zola vacated following the Hammers' narrow avoidance of relegation from the Premier League, there has been no indication as to who owners David Gold and David Sullivan will give the job to.

Bilic however was not interested in talking about his future, and when asked during a press conference ahead of his nation's friendly match with Wales on Sunday whether he has been offered the role, he refused to comment and left the room.

Speaking of his regard for Wales, Bilic commented on the amount of good players who had risen through the ranks, and was expecting a tough game against John Toshack's side.

"It is a young team I know, and they are without some of their players - but it is only four or five major players such as (Craig) Bellamy, (Gareth) Bale, (James) Collins, (Simon) Davies," said Bilic.

"We were without 12 players on Wednesday night against Austria and played one of our best games of the year.

"Those new guys are good players, they are hungry and so proud when they have a chance to play for Wales."

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