8 managers who had an instant impact at their clubs this season

Slaven Bilic – West Ham United

Bilic took West Ham from 12th to 7th in the space of one season

When West Ham decided not to extend the contract of Sam Allardyce at the end of last season, they were aiming to make the transition from a lower half team to a top half team. For this purpose, they appointed their former player, Slaven Bilic, as their manager.

Bilic’s start with West Ham was a torrid one as they struggled to get past Maltese club Birkirkara in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League and then got knocked out by Romanian club Astra Giurgiu in the next round.

However, once the league season started, West Ham were a different team. They won away to Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool in their opening six games and people quickly started to take notice of the Hammers.

Despite the injury problems to many of the team’s key players including Dimitri Payet, West Ham finished the season in sixth place with 62 points and just 4 points short of a Champions League spot. They finished the season five places and 15 points better than their previous season. On top of that, the Hammers can still qualify for Europa League if Manchester United win the FA Cup.

It was some of the transfers West Ham made under Bilic that changed the club’s fortunes this season as signings like Dimitri Payet, Angelo Ogbonna, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio were crucial to West Ham’s success.