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Bilic out of the running for West Ham job

08/09/2008

Croatia head coach Slaven Bilic has ruled himself out of taking the vacant manager's job at West Ham United, despite admitting he "has feelings" for the club.

Bilic, who categorically denied he would be taking over at Newcastle United either, said he remains committed to his current task, which is to ensure Croatia qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The 39-year-old presided over the perfect start for Croatia with a 3-0 home victory over Kazakhstan in group six, and now faces England in Zagreb on Wednesday night.

But he has refused to be distracted from his task and has reaffirmed his commitment to his current employers.

"I'm not going anywhere," Bilic told the Sun newspaper.

"Any club from England is a great opportunity but not for money, honestly, for me it's about ambition. It's about working in England, a country you know I adore.

"But it's like, no. West Ham is my club, I have feelings for them but I won't go. And I won't go to Newcastle."

Bilic refused to completely rule out a move to a managerial position in the Premier League, saying he would ideally see the Croatia job through to a conclusion in South Africa before going to England for the 2010/11 season.

"My wish is to stay another two years here but, if I lose a couple of games and they say 'off you go' then maybe I will go," he continued.

"But my answer is clear. No, I wouldn't go as things stand. I had many offers in the period between our win at Wembley last November until I signed a new deal in May.

"I decided to stay. Whether that's good for me only God knows."