Tony Cottee had a fair idea that Slaven Bilic would go on to become a manager at the top level.

Former Croatia defender Bilic arrived at West Ham United in January 1996 and immediately adapted to the English culture, quickly winning over his new teammates.

One of the Hammers players who saw eye-to-eye with Bilic was star striker Cottee who felt that the current Upton Park boss was destined for big things in the English game.

"I got on very well with Slav very quickly," he told the Daily Express.

"He was very well-educated, his English was excellent and what I liked about him was that he was one of the lads.

"Going back to the mid-1990s there was still a bit of a drinking culture at the club. There were a few 'good lads', if you know what I mean. We all enjoyed ourselves and he was part of that.

"Harry Redknapp was the manager and he started bringing in a lot of foreign players, not all of whom settled in.

"One that did was Slaven - he liked a drink and would have a smoke with the rest of us on the back of the bus. I'm not saying what was going on was right, but he embraced everything.

"Then above all else he was a fantastic player. And with Slav, you could see the potential of a future manager. Everything he brings to the table now, you could see was there as a player."