Slaven Bilic backs West Ham talisman Dimitri Payet to cope with added 'physiological' pressure this season

Star man: Dimitri Payet
Avril Husband/West Ham United via Getty Images
Sam Long15 August 2016

Slaven Bilic has backed Dimitri Payet to cope with the added physiological pressure West Ham's talisman will face in his second season in English football.

Payet enjoyed a superb debut campaign for the Hammers, scoring nine goals to help the club finish seventh and secure a place in the Europa League.

But the 29-year-old's blistering form will not have gone unnoticed by West Ham's rivals and the France international could be given extra attention by defenders this term.

However, Bilic is adamant Payet is capable of replicating the form he produced last term, despite the threat of other sides setting up to restrict his influence.

“Psychologically it is a big season for him as he will want to repeat what he did last season and we will do everything to help him and I see no reason why he cannot repeat that," Bilic told West Ham's official website.

“I don't believe he will be a marked man this season. People are trying to mark great players all their careers because they are great players and can get out of that situation.

“Dimitri will not do everything by himself and it was not the case last year," he added.

West Ham face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their opening game of the season tonight but the fixture is expected to come too soon for Payet, who featured in the latter stages of Euro 2016.

But Hammers co-chairman David Gold remains optimistic about his side's chances and believes West Ham could cause an upset on Antonio Conte's Premier League bow.

"They [Chelsea] have top players, but I believe we can get something from the game.

"We showed against the big teams away from home last season that we were capable of getting a result and there is no reason we cannot do the same thing again," Gold insisted.

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