West Ham hero Andre Ayew reveals how Slaven Bilic inspired his men to inspirational comeback over Spurs

Andre Ayew claimed Slaven Bilic’s half-time team talk
inspired West Ham's miracle Wembley comeback over
Tottenham.
The Croat manager was facing the sack with his side
2-0 down to Tottenham after a terrible opening 45
minutes.
But the Hammers were revitalised after the break as
Ayew netted twice and Angelo Ogbonna headed home
the winner to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
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Ayew said: “We stayed confident. We were down but
the coach had the words.
"We knew if we scored early in the second half we’d
have a chance. I want to congratulate the whole
team, it’s a massive win.
Bilic said: “I told them at half-time we were not doing
a lot wrong in the first half.
I told them to calm down and use the ball better.
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“We reacted in the most brilliant way. The lads
believed it. Goals are always key, they give the whole
team energy and our crosses started to be world
class. It is a great night for the club.”
Captain Mark Noble added: “Being 2-0 down not only
against Spurs but any team is a massive mountain to
climb.
"We have not been doing ourselves justice but I said
during the week we have to wear the shirt with pride
and we did that.”
The Hammers now face a crunch match on Saturday
away to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace and Bilic
hopes this victory can spark a revival.
"It can give us a lot of confidence, but only to do the
same in training, to do the same on Friday, on
Saturday," said Hammers boss Bilic.
"We have to use this opportunity to work hard. We
have two days before Palace, it's not ideal but the
win gives you energy, gives you freshness.
"Now tomorrow at the training ground nobody is going
to feel tired, from the impact of our result, from
beating them."
Bilic added said his players have now set the
standard they must maintain.
"Other than Brighton, we improved a lot in the last six
games," Bilic said. "This should be the standard for us
in terms of closing down, in terms of sacrificing for
the team.
"Some games we may lose, but I am quite positive we
are improving."
Mauricio Pochettino had previously said he was
prioritising the "real trophies" of the Champions
League and Premier League this season and he chose
to rest the likes of Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris and Jan
Vertonghen.
But Spurs are still yet to lift a trophy under his
leadership and this was a chance missed to reach the
quarter-finals of a competition they could realistically
have won.
"We allowed them to come back into the match," said
boss Pochettino, whose side play Manchester United
in the league on Saturday.
"In the first half it was under control. In the second
half, we lost a bit of the aggression. They have
players that are always dangerous.
"We showed a lack of aggression and everything we
were doing in the first half. You can never lose your
focus."

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