Sunday 21 May 2017 19:59, UK
Slaven Bilic insisted he thought West Ham's season would have panned out better, but believes several factors hindered their progress after his side's 2-1 final day win at Burnley.
Victory in Lancashire elevated the Hammers to an 11th-placed finish and earned them some welcome, additional prize money.
Nonetheless, after an up-and-down-season, there is speculation that the Hammers boss' position could be under threat in the close season.
Bilic admitted that he is aware that many expected better from his side this campaign, but believes a new stadium and a long injury list haven't helped matters.
"It is always nice to win on the last day," Bilic told Sky Sports. "I am pleased for the players.
"We thought that we were going to do better [this season]. I didn't want to talk about that in the season, I wanted to stay positive.
"We had so many obstacles, so many injuries. We had eight surgeries, which is not normal.
"Although the move to the new stadium is the best thing that has ever happened to the club in the long term, like any club, it is going to take time to settle.
"It has been difficult. If you are talking about England, it happened with Arsenal, it happened with Man City, Southampton when they moved to their new stadiums. You need time.
"It is very hard to get that Upton Park feeling, but it is going to get better and better.
"The game against Liverpool last week, there was a bit of complacency, because we thought we had done the job against Spurs. I am expecting to better next season, of course.
"It has been a tough season with ups and downs, but we have finished it now, and I want to praise the guys.
"We finished 11th, we wanted to finish higher, but we are just one point away from eighth. In this league, it is not a very, very bad season."
Despite an outlay of over £70m on players this campaign, Bilic was also adamant that some first-team additions are needed in the summer transfer window.
"I think next season every club is going to be busy [in transfer market]," Bilic added. "Even Barcelona want to improve.
"Today we showed that we have a good squad of players. Some players maybe will go [in the summer] and we will replace them.
"Today, we were without eight players and still looked good. If you are talking about the squad I am happy with the squad, but we need a few players to improve our first XI. We have our targets."
