Slaven Bilic Appointed West Ham United Manager: Latest Details and Reaction

Former West Ham United defender Slaven Bilic has been appointed as the new manager at Upton Park following the departure of Sam Allardyce at the end of the 2014-15 season.

The Croatian recently parted ways with Besiktas after two years in charge at the Turkish club and takes over at the helm for the Irons following their 12th-placed Premier League finish last season.

The news of Bilic's instalment as West Ham boss was reported on June 9 by the club's official website.

Bilic said:

"

I’m really glad to be back with West Ham United.

It’s in the Premier League, which is among the best in the world. It’s a big challenge and you are competing with the best and what better club to do it with than West Ham.

It is a great place to play and I felt like I was at home. It is a big privilege and a big responsibility to now be manager and I hope that I will prove it to the board, players and fans.

"

According to Dominic Fifield of the Guardian, 46-year-old Bilic was not the first choice of co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan and vice-chairman Karren Brady.

They were reportedly eager to bring in Marseille's Marcelo Bielsa, per Tony Banks of the Express, who also reported West Ham approached Carlo Ancelotti, David Moyes, Jurgen Klopp, Rafa Benitez and Unai Emery to fill the top job at the Boleyn Ground.

As noted by the Daily Mail's Matt Lawton, West Ham have seemingly been forced to settle for a manager they didn't originally target:

However, Bilic has a decent pedigree, having managed in Turkey and Russia. He also managed a strong Croatian national team, and his links with the Upton Park club as a player should make him a popular appointment on the terraces.

Former Hammer Tony Cottee has backed the appointment of his one-time team-mate at Upton Park:

Bilic was brought to east London by then-manager Harry Redknapp in 1996 and played a key role for the Hammers for 18 months before moving to Everton.