Monday 22 January 2018 20:25, UK
How should bottom-half sides set up when they face a top six side in the Premier League? Slaven Bilic joined Jamie Carragher on Monday Night Football to discuss…
This season, sides in the bottom half have beaten top six opposition on just five occasions in 73 matches. Is it down to gameplan? Is it down to mindset? Or something else?
Bilic, who was in charge of West Ham until November last year, was the ideal person to ask having had the best record of any manager against the top six during his stint at the Hammers, picking up eight wins and 30 points from August, 2015, to November, 2017.
"When you play against the big teams, first of all, you have to be compact," Bilic told MNF.
"Secondly, you have to be a little bit, not lucky [sic], but you have to score the first goal. That gives you confidence, it kills a little bit of their gameplan because they have to score two and they start to be a little bit nervous.
"To beat the big teams you have to be complete."
Asked about what mindset his side used to go out with against top-six opposition, he added: "We wanted to win.
"I never wanted to take a point before the game even when you played Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United. "
Watch the video at the top of the page to hear Carragher and Bilic's thoughts on Monday Night Football...