IT has now been more than a year since Sam Byram joined West Ham United from Leeds United.

The Hammers had to fight off stiff competition from Everton to sign the right back for £4m and manager Slaven Bilic hailed Byram as one of the best up-and-coming full backs in the country.

But Byram has only made 18 appearances since making the move to east London.

Injuries have held the Thurrock-born man back but Byram has been overlooked in favour of Cheikhou Kouyate in recent weeks.

Kouyate is best when operating in the heart of the Hammers’ midfield and has made mistakes at full back.

It is time for Bilic to show faith in Byram and give him a run of games in the side.

The 23-year-old impressed when he made his debut against Manchester City last season and kept Raheem Sterling quiet.

He has also shown glimpses of his potential when he has started this campaign.

But Bilic has insisted on not giving Byram an extended run in his starting XI.

With the Hammers all-but-safe and too far off the European qualification places, it is time for the Irons boss to give Byram a chance.

The right back showed that he is good defensively and going forward when he replaced Kouyate in the defeat at Bournemouth on Saturday.

He isn’t afraid to make a tackle - possibly one problem with Byram is that he picks up too many yellow cards - but he also set up Andre Ayew’s equaliser before the Hammers conceded the winner late on.

There have been a lot of rumours suggesting that West Ham are looking to sign a right back in the summer.

But if Byram was given a chance and made an impact in the final 10 Premier League games of the season, then perhaps bringing in a new full back wouldn’t be a priority.