West Ham coach Slaven Bilic insists his team will need to be careful when they take on Liverpool in their Premier League meeting on Saturday.

The Hammers are 16th in the league table with just a point keeping them out of the relegation zone at the moment.

Bilic’s men have only won two games all season with victories over Huddersfield and Swansea keeping the former Croatia boss in his job. Last week’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace turned up the heat on Bilic and a poor performance at the London Stadium could see him get the sack.

With Liverpool chasing a top four spot, Bilic admits the fans may need to be patient this weekend as his team try to tighten up at the back.

He told reporters: “Our fans are very educated. They know what other teams are doing, how they are playing home or away.

It doesn’t mean you don’t want to win the game. We have to be cautious and the fans will need to be patient as well.

“They [Liverpool] are a very good team, they play offensive football and it can leave them a little open at the back.

“We have to be very solid when we play them. They have that pace and quality up front and on the flanks.

If you have a good transition and players in the right positions you can hurt them.”

Bilic will be without Pablo Zabaleta for the game but fellow defenders Winston Reid and Aaron Cresswell will return.

West Ham are priced at 5.25 to win, the draw is 4.00, while Liverpool remain heavy favourites at odds of 1.67.