West Ham boss Slaven Bilic eyeing top-six finish in next season’s Premier League

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is eyeing up a top-six finish in next season’s Premier League following a frustrating campaign this time round, reports The London Evening Standard.

The East London outfit have struggled in their debut campaign at the London Stadium, winning just 11 of their 37 league games, and knowing that they can finish no higher than ninth going into their final clash of the season at Burnley this afternoon (3pm kick-off).

The Hammers have stumbled to just seven wins at their new home, and alongside the sale of star man Dimitri Payet in January, it has been a testing 12 months for manager Bilic, but the 48-year-old has already made clear his attentions for the 2017/18 campaign.

He said: ‘The ambitions are – the minimum (is) to finish in the top 10, but with the hope or plan to break into the
top eight, top seven or top six.

‘It’s going to be very hard, you saw last year that it is possible but you have to tick all of the boxes, you have to have a good transfer window, stay out of injuries and we settle down in the stadium.’

This will surely come as welcome news for the West Ham hierarchy, who have shown their displeasure at certain results in the second half of the season, and indeed the West Ham supporters, who have seen their side fail to replicate their stunning seventh place finish in the 2015/16 season.

Although it will be tricky to break into the top six, and indeed secure a top-half finish in a fiercely competitive league, Hammers fans will be thrilled to see Bilic and the club speak of ambition ahead of what needs to be an improved 2017/18 campaign.