Slaven Bilic has admitted that he faces a selection dilemma at West Ham, and says that trying to keep every player in the squad happy is a manager’s hardest task.

The Hammers have had a difficult start to their Premier League campaign so far this season, losing their opening three games before overcoming newly promoted Huddersfield on Monday. Many will have seen Slaven Bilic as the next manager in the firing line, but the win against the Terriers will have given the team a massive lift, and one that they will hope can help them get a result against West Brom on Saturday.

Bilic isn’t out of danger by any sense, but the three points will definitely have eased the pressure on both himself and his team. The Croat now believes that keeping his squad happy is his toughest task, with so many stars having to wait patiently on the bench.

Speaking on his column for the Evening Standard, Bilic wrote about how Arnautovic returning from suspension is causing a selection headache – with there being many stars to choose from now.

“With Marko Arnautovic available again following suspension and Manuel Lanzini getting closer to fitness, I am going to have more options soon.” Wrote Bilic.

“For a manager, that is a positive problem but every Premier League club are in a similar position now.”

“The question of keeping everyone happy then is a difficult one but unless you are really overloaded, every player can feel that he is an important cog in the wheel.”

“Unless players are in your team, though, the reality is that very few of them are happy. Maybe, if there is a young player, he is content for a few weeks just to be in the squad — but they are talented footballers and they are hungry to play.”

Bilic spoke about how his decision to substitute top scorer Javier Hernandez against Huddersfield was a decision he did not take lightly, and understood fans frustrations, but it is one that paid off for him and the team.

“Managers have to be big enough to make decisions, such as substituting ‘Chicharito’ in the second half against Huddersfield.”

“I heard a few boos when I did that and I understood because he is a fans’ favourite and also a favourite of mine. The reason why I did it was this. We didn’t want to change the system but we were dropping energy so we needed a player to come on to give us a boost.”

“We had that quality on the bench with Andre Ayew and the pitch was beginning to look a bit big for Chicharito, who had done some long-distance travelling during the international break. Maybe he would have recovered as the game wore on but we wanted to change something and it was time.”

The boss is now looking ahead to their next game against West Brom, a tie which Bilic hopes his team can win and continue their win streak.

“What we have to do now is keep this level of concentration and determination. We proved it against Huddersfield — the art is to keep doing it, against West Brom tomorrow and beyond.”