West Ham United talisman Marko Arnautovic has said that he is not to blame for former manager Slaven Bilic’s sacking but admitted he “let him down”.
The Austrian was brought to the London Stadium by Bilic for £25million last summer, but got sent off in his second game and failed to score under the Croatian.
However the 29-year-old, on a reported £100,000-per-week at the club [Source: Spotrac], believes he is not at fault for Bilic’s eventual dismissal: “It would be harsh to say he was sacked because of me,” he told the Mail on Sunday.
“Maybe there were a couple of occasions when I let him down, when it was not my meaning. I have a lot of respect for Slaven. I love him as a human being and as a coach. He has done a lot for me.”
OPINION
Arnautovic is right, it would be extremely unfair to say that he was the sole reason for Bilic’s sacking last year. The Hammers looked simply awful under the Croatian at the start of last season, and the difference was there for all to see once David Moyes replaced him. The team looked far more organised and went on to secure Premier League safety fairly comfortably. Arnautovic was a big part of that, and Moyes really seemed to unlock the former Stoke City man’s potential. Obviously when a player performs well for one manager but not for another then accusations of not trying under the previous boss will be made, but his poor form was surely down to Bilic as much as it was Arnautovic. Bilic didn’t know how to get the best out of him, whereas Moyes, and now Manuel Pellegrini, have managed to crack the Austrian’s code and coax some phenomenal performances out of him. So, no, Arnautovic isn’t to blame for Bilic’s sacking.
