Sofiane Feghouli gave the Hammers a two-goal cushion when he scored late on to mark a special home debut for the new signing, capping off an impressive performance for the hosts as they progressed 4-2 on aggregate.
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However, a 2-1 loss in the first leg in Ljubljana means Slaven Bilic’s side need to win their first match in their new surroundings or face an embarrassing exit.
Provisionally, the first leg of the play-off is set to be in Giurgiu on August 18, with the second leg at the newly-named London Stadium on August 25.
He said: “Basically we have five games before the September worldwide break and this squad is not big enough”.
“Yes this is an opportunity for West Ham to establish themselves but as well [to think like] this is risky, ” he said.
One West Ham fan shares his first impression of the club’s new home.
“Hopefully we will have a minimum of five players to add to this squad”.
West Ham United have lined up a move for Inter Milan defender Davide Santon to solve their full-back problems, sources close to the player have told ESPN FC.
“It’s a qualification game in a competition we want to qualify for”.
“(It was a special night) not only for me but for the whole team, with the “Bubbles” song on when you walk out there’s always something special and also the crowd were fantastic, so we’re looking forward to more of those games”. It’s a totally different thing.
“It’s a good feeling, we played well but we ain’t going to go overboard”.
Bilic highlighted Arsenal’s move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 and Southampton’s relocation to St Mary’s in 2001 as examples of clubs finding it hard to adapt to a new home.
He scored a great goal and could have got more.
Sam Byram, the young English right-back recruited from Leeds back in January, is expected to start at left-back as Bilic continues to struggle to find a replacement for the injured Aaron Cresswell.
West Ham had £3m and £4m bids turned down from Norwich City for the Swedish left-back Martin Olsson, and it appears that Bilic will end the pursuit of the 28-year-old and move on to a loan deal for Davide Santon instead.
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“We have spoken about it”.
