West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyaté dedicated Friday's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotpsur to manager Slaven Bilić, with the Senegalese insisting that the side are "right behind" the Croatian coach.

Behind him the entire way

It has been a tough second season at the Hammers for Bilić as his side has failed to really settle in at the London Stadium. Their form has also been very on-off, which has brought his job into disrepute.

A recent run of seven matches without victory really put pressure on to the Croatian and his position at the club despite having the backing of the board.

The poor run of form left them wallowing down near the bottom of the table but an improved streak of late has seen them pull away towards the top-half of the table.

Friday's victory mathematically secured their position in the top-flight with the opportunity to finish inside the top ten, despite their recent good run there are still whispers Bilić will be moved on in the summer but Kouyaté insisted that the side are behind him all the way.

"Despite all the speculation," Kouyaté stated to whufc.com. "Slaven was very confident before the game."

"We were right behind him the entire way," the midfielder insisted to the club's website. "He said before the match that this was like a final for us and so we are very happy that we've won it for him."

"The objective for us for the remainder of the season is to get as many points as possible," Kouyaté added. "We know that finishing as high as ninth or tenth is still possible."

Out for the season

Kouyaté has had another excellent season for the Hammers, with the midfielder writing himself into the club's history with the first competitive goal at the new stadium with the 3-0 win over NK Domzale.

However throughout he has been suffering with a wrist injury which has been evident with his cast in the 36 appearances that he has made.

Now West Ham's safety has been secured it is reported that the 27-year-old will be allowed to have surgery, meaning his season has come to an end as he will miss the last two matches against Liverpool and Burnley respectively.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.