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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic to be patient with Alex Song

Friday 27 November 2015 16:09, UK

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West Ham will be without the suspended Mark Noble for their Super Sunday match with West Brom

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic admits he will need to treat Alex Song's return to action with caution.

Song made his long-awaited comeback from an ankle injury in last Sunday's 4-1 defeat against Tottenham, playing the final 10 minutes at White Hart Lane following six months out. 

Song, on a second season-long loan from Barcelona, is in contention to make his first start of the season against West Bromwich Albion at the Boleyn Ground on Sunday with captain Mark Noble ruled out because of a suspension. 

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Midfielder Pedro Obiang is also back in full training following four weeks out with a thigh problem and Bilic says both players will come into his thinking for the visit of Tony Pulis' side. 

"Alex [Song] is a great player, we also have Pedro Obiang coming back too. The situations are a little bit different given the length of injuries they had. Pedro was only out for four weeks, now he is back and looking good in training," Bilic said. 

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Pedro Mba Obiang of West Ham United and Kevin de Bruyne of Manchester City compete for the ball during the Barclays Pre
Image: Slaven Bilic has also been boosted by the return of midfielder Pedro Obiang

"Alex is back in full training, he played ten minutes against Spurs and in training he is also looking very good. We have to be patient because his break was a lot longer, he hasn't played for almost half a year, so we will have to make a decision between the two."

Having enjoyed a superb start to the season - winning six of their opening 10 matches - West Ham are now without a victory in their previous three games. 

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Despite the recent slump in results, Bilic is confident his side can rediscover their best form and claim their first home league victory over the Baggies since March 2013. 

"We've only got one point from the last three games which is below our expectations. Every game in the Premier League is tough, but it is still below what we wanted to achieve," he said. 

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur scores his teams third goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotsp
Image: West Ham were beaten comfortably by Tottenham last Sunday

"We have a home game on Sunday against a very good team, but are plan, of course, is to win it. We need to win it because we haven't got enough recently."

Bilic added: "I am very confident, I am very optimistic generally. I believe in our players, I know what we are capable of doing. 

"We haven't dropped in form because it is only a few games, but we have dropped points. I am also confident because in our last two home games, against Everton and Chelsea we played really good so we shouldn't allow our confidence to go down."