Bilic: West Ham are not safe yet

Slaven Bilic believes West Ham will need to score more than 40 points this season if they want to secure their Premier League status.

The magical 40-point mark has long been seen as a safety barrier but, with Hull City and Swansea City both securing vital wins on Saturday, the Hammers still have work to do, despite currently sitting on 38.

On Saturday, West Ham edged further towards safety with a 0-0 draw at home to Everton – and it is looking increasingly likely that they will retain their place in  the Premier League.

But the fixture list has not been kind as next week, they travel to Stoke City before back-to-back home matches against Tottenham and Liverpool.

And with Hull and now Swansea both picking up regular points, Bilic knows his side have work to do.

“We talk about the magic number of 40 [points for Premier League survival]. I think we might need a few more points, so we are not going into the last game [still in danger],” he said.

“I am really pleased with the performance. I could not ask any more from my players.

“In terms of effort, dedication and determination, they get top marks. If any team deserved three points, it was us.

“To limit them to one chance requires a lot of hard work. The only bit of negativity is that I felt, at moments, we lacked some quality in our decision-making. We played like 11 lions, one for each other.”