Slaven Bilic reveals he knew he could be sacked by West Brom on coach back from draw at Man City

Slaven Bilic has revealed he wasn’t aware he was set to be sacked by West Brom until being shown the headlines on the coach back from their highly-impressive draw at Manchester City. 

Bilic, who has now been replaced by Sam Allardyce at West Brom, only realised reports that he was going to be sacked were more than just rumours when his assistant showed him his phone on the journey back to Birmingham.

The 52-year-old said after earning a valuable point at the Etihad that he ‘did not care’ about what was going on behind the scenes, a comment which was interpreted as Bilic conceding his time was up.

Slaven Bilic revealed he learned his position was in danger on the bus back from Manchester

However, it was not until later on in the evening that he became aware his position was in jeopardy. 

‘Some people felt that I smelt it,’ Bilic told The Telegraph. ‘But I felt in a good position. The interview was straight after the game and I was only thinking of the joy of getting a point at Man City, not my future. 

‘I was just saying that I don’t care about those things because I was thinking of what mattered.’ When one of Bilic’s assistants checked the headlines on his phone, ‘then I knew something was happening,’ he says.

Bilic was still the first to arrive at West Brom’s training ground the next morning to begin their preparations for Sunday’s game with Aston Villa but was soon summoned for a chat with technical director Luke Dowling and chief executive Xu Ke.

Bilic was dismissed despite his West Brom side earning a hugely impressive draw at City

Less than 24 hours later, he was relieved of his duties and Allardyce had been brought in as his replacement. 

Speaking about his dismissal for the first time, Bilic said: ‘I can’t say I was shocked when they told me. But I also can’t say that I saw it coming. I knew there was always a possibility because I know how it works. There are always two, three managers who are in that red zone – you are in the papers, the bookmakers – but this season is different. 

‘The biggest signal a manager can get, for or against, is the reaction of the crowd. Nowadays you don’t have it. You can’t say we were doing a smashing job in the Premier League – seven points from 13 games – but we were there and were definitely improving. 

‘For me, it was good. When people look and say, “They are in the relegation zone, it’s not good enough”, well everyone was saying before the season started that we were going to be rock bottom. But we were competing and ‘in’ almost every game. 

Bilic, who admitted he was somewhat shocked by his dismissal, leaves West Brom in 19th

‘On paper we are the least-valued team in the league but this team has shown that it can stay up. That’s what I told the guys after the game against Manchester City. I said, “This is a great point – be proud”. 

‘So we were learning, getting the confidence but the Premier League is the hardest school in the world; a cruel school and it takes time and it can cost points. Some of the things that happen in games affect you more than an established Premier League team.’

Allardyce has earned a reputation for working miracles to keep teams up in the Premier League and has taken over from Bilic on a deal which runs to the end of the season.

The former England boss has been out of work for over two and a half years but said the ‘itch was back’ and is already making plans for next month’s transfer window with Crystal Palace’s James Tomkins a target. 

West Brom are currently 19th but are not cut adrift and Allardyce will be keen to get off to a positive start when he takes charge of his first match against local rivals Villa this weekend.

Sam Allardyce has been appointed as Bilic’s successor at West Brom on a short-term deal