Slaven Bilic's position as West Ham manager has been under threat for some time, and he was under heavy scrutiny going into his side's clash against Liverpool on Saturday.

And, after suffering another heavy defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Bilic revealed he was under huge pressure.

Following the game, he said: "The pressure mounts game by game and at this moment it is big.

"We will see what the club will do. The club is above everyone."

But, that result against Liverpool proved to be the final straw, as Bilic was finally sacked on Monday morning.

The Croatian led the Hammers to a dismal start to the campaign, with the East London side currently occupying 18th place having accumulated an underwhelming nine points in 11 games.

BILIC'S CLASSY RESPONSE TO BEING SACKED

And, after officially being shown the door, Bilic has shown his class with his comments following his sacking.

Speaking to reporters outside of West Ham’s training ground earlier today, Bilic said: "I'm sad and disappointed but not in the club.

"I expected it to be fair. It is a move that clubs are usually doing. There are no hard feelings. As time goes by I'm sure I will be proud of my work here.

"We didn't start this crucial season well. We had a really good, or great, or very good first season, then the second season we knew was going to be a difficult one in a transition to move to the new stadium and all the difficulties we had.

"We coped with that at the end really good, finished middle of the table, but then this season we hoped we could make that step from the start and we just didn't make it - as in many clubs in the Premier League and across Europe the manager is the one who pays the price.

"The fans were brilliant with me from the start until the very end, and I really felt it.

"For me, this was more than a job, it was personal because of my relationship with the club, one I played for.

"They came here for my first game, a team from Andorra, and made a full house. You have to respect that and nothing will change that memory for me."

WEST HAM HAVE ALREADY LINED UP A REPLACEMENT

Reports have already emerged suggesting that David Moyes is set to replace Bilic as West Ham manager.

This has largely been met by disappointment from West Ham fans, with many pointing to his recent managerial exploits as a sign that he is not the right man to take the club forward.

But given where West Ham were in the table, it surely cannot get much worse for the club - even with Moyes at the helm.