Sam Allardyce has warned his successor, Slaven Bilic, that his popularity with the fans will not stop them turning on him quickly if he gets off to a bad start as their manager.

Bilic played for the Hammers between 1996 and 1997 and following his appointment on Tuesday said he was thrilled to be back at a “special club”.

He succeeded Allardyce, who despite his solid work at West Ham never won over all of the fans.

“Slaven’s popular and it will start off okay but it won’t take much for the mood to change if results aren’t going well,” he said.

Under Allardyce, West Ham won promotion to the Premier League and then had finishes of 10th, 13th and 12th.

He told The Sun: “I’ve left Slaven in a very good position. He’s not going into a club which has just been relegated or survived by the skin of its teeth. He has a great base to build on.”