West Ham United manager, Slaven Bilic has said that his side have turned a corner in their season, ahead of their EFL Cup clash with London rivals, Chelsea.
On the up
After a poor start to the season, the Hammers seem to be on the upturn, with the victory over Crystal Palace, and a late goal from Winston Reid gave them the late 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday.
The Hammers will be looking to make it three wins on the spin, when they welcome Antonio Conte's side to the London Stadium, and ahead of the clash, Bilic told the media that he is looking forward to the clash and believes that his side have turned a corner.
“Yeah, we have seven points from three games, and we have a couple of wins and a couple of clean sheets," Bilic told whufc.com. "Of course the confidence is back now and we have to continue like this and approach every game like it’s our last game; totally focused."
He continued, “I think so. I haven’t thought of it quite like that, but it’s a cup game, a London derby, so it’s a big game and a big occasion."
Bilic added, "Supporters have to be just behind us and we are feeling them in every game we play. We want them to be like that tomorrow and be our 12th player, as they say, and I am sure they are going to be."
One of the best
Bilic is expected to name a strong side against the Blues with one of them possibly being FIFA Ballon d'Or nominee, Dimitri Payet. The Frenchman was named on the 30-man shortlist after his excellent year with both the Hammers and France, and Bilic said he wasn't surprised by his inclusion.
"I would be surprised if he wasn’t shortlisted," he said. "He deserves it."
Bilic concluded: "He did great last season and on top of that, he had a great Euro with his country. He is very deservedly on that with some top players."
West Ham United will take on Chelsea in the League Cup at the London Stadium on Wednesday, October 26 with kick-off at 7:45pm BST.