West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic had nothing but praise for two-goal hero Dimitri Payet following his man of the match display against Newcastle and said he is not surprised by his immediate impact in the Premier League.
Payet opened the scoring with a superb strike early in the game and doubled the advantage minutes into the second half after new signing Victor Moses saw his shot hit the bar and the French international was in the right place to knock the rebound into the back of the net.
The talented forward has already netted three goals this season and Bilic knows he can help the Hammers achieve big things this season if he continues to produce this kind of form.
Bilic said: “He is fantastic but he doesn't surprise me. The only thing that surprised me is that he gelled straight away but then we have great lads with a good character in the team. Every new player is welcome straight away.
“I know Dimitri and I wanted to take him to Besiktas last year but it was impossible. He is a brilliant player and he is not just a player who decides a game with his goals, but he is also great at keeping possession and making all the other players better.
“It is not just him but if you ask me about him he is a brilliant player and that is why we got him.
“He did the same in training yesterday (with a wonder strike) and also scored a similar goal against Leicester. We need that extra type of player and if he does that we are going to be good. But the whole team played well tonight.”
Bilic was also thrilled to see new signing Moses have such an immediate impact on his Premier League debut for the Club and was glad to see him play the majority of the game.
Bilic added: “It was some sprint (for the second goal) and that is what pleases me the most. We knew that Victor has the quality. His fitness was the only thing on paper.
“He played pre-season for Chelsea but has not played in the Premier League. But he told me he was okay. I didn't know he would last that long. There was no need to take him off and he is a quality player.”
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