Bilic leaps to Conte's defence

Cape Town - West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has defended the actions of Chelsea boss Antonio Conte during the Blues' 4-0 victory over Manchester United on Sunday.

Conte drew the ire of United manager Jose Mourinho for trying to 'humiliate his team' by whipping the Stamford Bridge crowd into a frenzy, but Bilic didn't see it that way.

"I know what Jose thought of that, but I don’t think that’s the reason Conte did it, to humiliate United," said Bilic.

"He just wanted the crowd to praise the team because they were winning, and for what they had done in the game.

"From my point of view I don’t think he wanted to humiliate United.

"On the touchline many managers just sit and watch the game, others are like they are playing. You have to be yourself.

"During that game I saw nothing wrong from Conte or nothing he hasn’t done since he started. It was typical Conte, aggressive, but in a good way."

Bilic urged the Hammers fans to get behind his team as when they face Conte's Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

"It’s a cup game, a derby against Chelsea, so yes it’s a big game, a big occasion," he added.

"The message to the fans is just to get behind us, because we are feeling them in every game and we want them to be our 12th player."