Sunday 24 January 2016 13:45, UK
Slaven Bilic believes his West Ham side will have a chance to win any game if they play as well as they did in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
Speaking on Saturday Night Football, Bilic spoke of his pride at the way the Hammers performed after Enner Valencia twice put them ahead at Upton Park only for Sergio Aguero to peg them back on each occasion.
The former Croatia boss refused to make any bold predictions about where his side would finish this season, but insisted that at their best they can compete against anyone.
"Nobody knows [how far West Ham can go]. All I can say is that this is a very demanding league, it is a very open league and it is very hard - or impossible - to predict anything," said Bilic.
"If we continue to play like we played like tonight, with this kind of compactness when we are without the ball and the confidence and willingness to go forward when we have the ball, with this kind of quality, then the minimum is we're going to have a chance in any game, no matter who we play against."
Having led going into the final 10 minutes and then seeing his team hit the bar in the final seconds of the match, Bilic said he and his players were frustrated to have only picked up a point against their title-chasing opponents.
"I talked to the guys and we are a bit disappointed in the dressing room but, first of all, I would like to say that it was a great game of football and I'm really proud of the guys," he added.
"Both teams played to win and at the end they could have won - they hit the post twice - they are Man City, they have that extra quality.
"But, when you are at home and you are leading with 10 minutes to go and you are more likely to score a third goal then you hit the bar in the last second of the game, you are a little bit disappointed. But we are proud, I think we played a fantastic game."
Asked why exactly it was that he was so proud of his players, Bilic spoke of what he described as a 'complete' performance from his team.
"We played a really good game of football," he explained. "When you play against a team like Manchester City then you have to have a complete game, a perfect game.
"You have to defend well, sometimes they make you - it is not your choice - they make you sit quite deep and in that part of the game we defended really well and then when we were on the ball we were keeping the ball, we were switching sides, we were penetrating, we created chances, we scored two goals and could have scored more.
"There was also fantastic team spirit and also fantastic individual quality from some players. That's why I am proud. It is not just the result."
