The Championship pace-setters ran out deserved winners thanks to Conor Townsend’s early strike.
Bilic said: “I’m happy, very pleased with the result and even more with the performance.
“We were positive from the start, we were brave, we kept the ball really well.
“I said at half-time the only thing I wasn’t happy about was the score. We were winning, but we should have been up more.”
Gallingly for West Ham, this was pretty much their strongest available line-up while Bilic made eight changes to his side, with the Croatian’s priority lying with the promotion race.
Not only that, but Albion also played the final 18 minutes with ten men after Semi Ajayi was sent off for a second booking.
Among those drafted in by Bilic were experienced campaigners Charlie Austin, Chris Brunt and Gareth Barry, an FA Cup winner nine years ago with Manchester City.
This story is from the January 26, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
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This story is from the January 26, 2020 edition of The Football League Paper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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