Slaven Bilic may have got his West Ham side back on track this season after a woeful start to life at the London Stadium, but there is still plenty of work to do with his squad.

The Hammers’ move to their new home was marred by trouble on the pitch and in the stands with players struggling to adapt to life in their new surroundings, with some fans refusing to.

Furthermore, whilst at times an away trip seemed like solace from their troubles, losses on the road began to pull Bilic’s side towards a relegation scrap, something which was far from the mind of the powers that be in Stratford at the start of the campaign.

However, after a terrible start to proceedings this season, despite a flat performance in their loss to Premier League leaders Chelsea on Monday night, the Croatian looks to have got things going again, even after the departure of his star man Dimitri Payet in January, having gone on strike.

One sticking point, however, for fans inside the London Stadium is the bizarre situation in their back line. The January window saw investment in the central defensive berth, with Southampton captain Jose Fonte being brought in to cover for the injured Angelo Ogbonna, but there was no such addition at right-back.

Hammers fans have been pining for a right back for over a season now and, with the summer addition of World Cup and Champions League winner Alvaro Arbeloa having been a complete waste of time, they have had to watch on as Bilic has experimented time and again.

In the last few weeks alone fans have seen Michail Antonio and Sofiane Feghouli looking to fill a wing-back role, before a change to a back four meant Cheikhou Kouyate took the right-back slot.

There is now talk of Hammers captain and holding midfielder Mark Noble taking up the role, just to see how it goes, all the while an actual, promising and English right-back sat on the bench against Chelsea.

Former Leeds United defender Sam Byram has had a tough time since moving to West Ham. Suspension, followed by injury and more suspensions, then further injury, has meant that the youngster has not been given the chance to impress his manager or those fans watching on, but he shows plenty of promise.

Should Bilic not give the 23-year-old a run in the side, and then go on to splash out on a new right-back in the summer, he will have criminally wasted the club’s money.

There is little to play for between now and the end of the season, so why not give him a run of games? If by May he has not impressed, by all means see what is on offer in the transfer market. However, should the Englishman get a solid go in the first team, Hammers fans’ persistent calls for a new man at the back could be answered from within their own squad.