Slaven Bilic looks back at West Brom with fondness
Slaven Bilic said he will always look back on his time at Albion as one of the most enjoyable periods of his career, following his appointment as manager of Beijing Guoan.
Exactly three weeks to the day he was sacked from his role at The Hawthorns, Bilic was confirmed as boss of the Chinese Super League outfit.
He will be joined in the Far East by former Albion coaches Danilo Butorovic and Dean Racunica.
Bilic’s departure from Albion was controversial. The head coach still had the support of many Baggies fans while his sacking arrived less than 24 hours after his team had secured an impressive draw at Manchester City.
But while he was disappointed to lose his job, he says his dismissal won’t get in the way of the happy times he enjoyed at the club.
Asked if there is any bitterness over his Albion departure, Bilic said: “Not at all, I’m not annoyed.
“And I have to use this opportunity to thank the players, who were brilliant from day one to the last day.
“We’ve been through great times, through the Championship, got promoted, went through Covid, then got to the Premier League where we’ve had some knock downs, but we never had one single problem with attitudes in the dressing room or on the training pitch, we never lost motivation.
“The players were brilliant and I feel for them now and I want the best for them and the fans.
“Things happen in football, but I will always remember West Brom as a great part of my career, because of the things we achieved in the first year.
“It was not in our plans to do it (secure promotion) in our first season and it was quite remarkable.
“It will stay in my heart and my mind forever.”
Bilic says he now has his fingers crossed his replacement – Sam Allardyce – can keep Albion in the Premier League.
“I hope they will survive,” the 52-year-old continued. “It will be difficult, but for me the team has changed a lot since the beginning of the season.
“We were improving a lot, we were competitive in every game and hopefully Sam will continue to do it now.
“The gap is not too big, but the form has to improve.
“It would be important to bring in a few more players to strengthen the squad.”
Beijing Guoan – known as The Imperial Guards – finished last season’s domestic championship in third place with striker Cedric Bakambu the competition’s top scorer with 14 goals.
The 2009 Chinese Super League champions also reached the quarter finals of both the Asian Champions League and the Chinese FA Cup in 2020.
Bilic, who has also managed Hajduk Split, Lokomotiv Moscow and Al-Ittihad amongst others, will now travel to the Far East to begin his new role ahead of the start of the 2021 season.
“It feels good,” he said when asked how it feels to get back into the game so soon.
“It’s happened quickly, to have another job it feels exciting, now I have to pack things and all that, which is not the best part, but I’m glad.
“It’s what I wanted and I’m looking forward to a big challenge.
“It’s a big club, it’s a good contract.
“I didn’t have a plan (to go to China).
“I had the opportunity to go there when I left West Ham and it was always a very attractive destination for a few reasons; of course the finances are important but also what was important for me was the size of the club, and I’m going to a massive club there.
“So I was ready to go two years ago and it didn’t happen, but it’s happening now. It was always one of the destinations I considered.”
Bilic will get to test himself against a number of high profile managers in the Chinese Super League next season.
Amongst those competiting in the division are former Liverpool and Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez – who is in charge of Dalian Yifang – and Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro who is the boss at Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao.
