THERE has been speculation at numerous times over the course of the season that Slaven Bilic may be sacked as West Ham United manager.

I think the club’s owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, would be making a huge mistake if they relieved the Croatian of his duties.

Bilic has been superb since taking over from Sam Allardyce in the summer of 2015.

He has got the team playing attractive football for large spells of his time at the helm and has persuaded some special players to move to east London.

This season, admittedly, has been quite disappointing for West Ham.

But the move to the London Stadium was always going to take some getting used to - for the players and fans.

Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to current Premier League champions Leicester City involved an opening seven minutes which ultimately cost the Hammers the match.

But for the remainder of the match, the players showed that they are behind their manager and fought for the club.

Were it not for a world class performance from Foxes goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, West Ham would have come back to claim all three points.

The Irons dominated possession, had numerous opportunities to score, were good on the ball and, in Lanzini, they had a cutting edge.

There have been reports in recent weeks that the Hammers have failed to offer Bilic a new deal because the owners want to see where their club finishes in the Premier League standings before deciding if the ex-Croatia international manager is the man to take West Ham forward.

But the Hammers faithful love Bilic. He is a former player for the club and shows passion on the sidelines that hasn’t been seen in the West Ham dugout for some time.

I think the owners should give Bilic a new contract now. He is the man the vast majority of supporters want in charge of their club and he can take West Ham onto the next level.