Bilic leaps to defence of West Ham’s No.1

He may have put in one of his poorer displays against Sunderland, but West Ham’s under-fire manager Slaven Bilic has thrown his support behind goalkeeper Darren Randolph.

The Hammers’ number one allowed Wahbi Khazri to score direct from a corner, before gifting Fabio Borini a 90th-minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw.

If Sunderland’s David Moyes felt under pressure during the clash, with fans demanding his removal, Bilic won’t have felt much better, with his side not completely safe from the drop and throwing away two crucial points here.

But the 48-year-old would not blame shot-stopper Randolph, a 29-year-old Republic of Ireland international, who has already made 27 appearances in all competitions for West Ham this term.

“We aren’t pointing fingers. We are winning, losing, scoring and conceding goals as a team. We do it all as a team,” said Bilic.

“It was a well-taken goal from Borini and, OK, you expect to clear the ball, but with our goalkeeper in that position, the ball dropped and unfortunately, he couldn’t hold it.

“We were looking for three points and when you concede goals in that manner – for both of them – they are strange goals and you’re disappointed.

“It was a fair result though. Three [points] would have been brilliant but at this stage of the season, a point can be very, very important for us.”