West Ham close to naming manager

West Ham are close to appointing their new manager to succeed Sam Allardyce.

The club posted on their official Twitter account: “Breaking news on the appointment of the new West Ham United manager will follow soon on whufc.com! Stay tuned!"

Sky sources understand that former Hammers defender Slaven Bilic and Marcelo Bielsa are the names in the frame to take over from Allardyce, whose contract at Upton Park is due to expire this summer.

Bilic has an affinity with West Ham supporters having played over 50 times for the club and is known to have a strong desire to manage in the Premier League.

West Ham have already met with Bilic, who left Besiktas at the end of last season and SkyBet have suspended betting in the next West Ham manager market.

Former Hammers striker Iain Dowie believes his former Hammers team-mate Bilic would  bring good experience of dealing with ‘big personalities’ if he was to be brought in as the club’s next manager.

He (Bilic) is a player who put his heart and soul into playing for the club and the fans will appreciate that.

“I know him well, he’s very articulate and very well-educated man,” said Dowie. “He’s had a good schooling with Hajduk Split and the Croatia under-21s and then with Croatia, and then getting involved with Lokomotiv Moscow and finally Besiktas, where he was really going well for a period.

“He’s got a great deal of experience, especially of dealing with big players – he dealt with big personalities in the Croatian national side and the fans will welcome him.

“He’s a player who put his heart and soul into playing for the club and the fans will appreciate that.

“Going into the new stadium, it’s a difficult job and it’s a calculated risk to replace Sam Allardyce.”