Thursday 13 August 2015 13:35, UK
West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says he will consider playing Diafra Sakho against Leicester on Saturday, despite the striker’s recent arrest.
The Senegal international, 25, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his girlfriend in London on August 6.
Bilic admitted he was concerned about the striker’s situation but insisted Sakho was training as normal ahead of the Premier League fixture at the Boleyn Ground.
"Well, he's training," Bilic said. "He played against Arsenal. He was here every day, he looks okay, he looks happy, he's not worried. For all these things I'm happy.
"For all the other aspects of this problem you should talk to Diafra. Of course I'm concerned, I spoke with him. But he looks very positive, he's not worried about it. Therefore, he trained normally this week. I am happy with him."
The former Croatia and Besiktas manager also revealed that Morgan Amalfitano will not play against Leicester.
The 30-year-old was not included in West Ham’s squad for the 2-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates and also failed to feature in the club’s open training session on Tuesday.
It later emerged that the French midfielder, who signed a new two-year contract in March, had missed a team meeting and was made to train with the youth team as a result.
"He's not in the first team anymore and that is it," said Bilic. "I have to protect the team. I said it to players at the start, these things are not new. They are more or less the same at every football club.
"My first job is to protect the team, to keep the team as a unit in the best possible way. And if I feel that someone is damaging it in a way, I have to react. And I did that.
"It was nothing or nowhere near what was in the papers. It was not brawling in front of players. This was just a quiet meeting between the two of us where I explained the situation. I had to do it to keep the harmony, to keep everything in place."
Bilic also denied that Joey Barton’s proposed Upton Park move fell through as a result of the widespread negative reaction to the deal by West Ham supporters.
"No, no, it was all together. Not just one thing,” said Bilic. "We were thinking about Joey and I like him as a player.
"We discussed, we had some talks and ideas about him. But after that we decided and Joey also not to do it.
"It was not the best timing. Joey is great lad and a good player. He wished us well and we also want to wish him well."
