Slaven Bilic has praised promising youngster Declan Rice after his impressive performance against Manchester United at the weekend, but admits he must take caution not to push the teenager too far.
Rice had an excellent half an hour cameo during the Hammers 4-0 defeat to United at Old Trafford in what was only his second ever competitive first team appearance. He also spent the whole of pre-season with Slaven Bilic’s side, playing every game during the club’s tour of Europe.
And while Bilic is happy with the Irishman’s contribution to the team, he has urged restraint over the weight put on his shoulders.
“Although it’s nice to have a situation (where a player comes through the Academy), we are never trying to force that,” said Bilic speaking on whufc.com. “We didn’t go ‘Let’s put Declan in to gain something from the fans’.”
“He’s a boy, a very mature and good player for his age. He thinks about the game and has the quality and has impressed everybody – the players, staff, West Ham family. In pre-season, he played every game. He was very important. He did very well in all our games.
“It’s still early for the kid, but is he improving and doing good? Yes, he is.”
Rice spent much of his youth career with Chelsea before moving to the Hammers on 2014, and since his move to East London he has earned a call-up to the Republic of Ireland national team, being named in the squad to for a number of friendlies and qualifiers over the summer.
“We don’t want to praise him too much – him and his family are down to earth and will stay focused. It’s still the beginning for him but he is doing really well.”
