West Ham boss Slaven Bilic says every junior footballer should look up to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy.

Bilic wrote in the London Evening Standard: "I didn't know a lot about Jamie Vardy until I began watching a DVD of Leicester's opening game of the season against Sunderland because we were playing them in week two.

"They were already well ahead in the match when he got the ball from a throw-in just inside Sunderland's half. He sprinted all the way down the wing, cut inside and hit the post. I called my assistants and said: “Who is this guy?"

"This was in the first game of the season and he hasn't stopped sprinting since. His story is great. He should be the example for every kid who starts in football or is already playing in a lower division in any country, anywhere in the world.

"Vardy has probably been assessed many times by coaches, directors or agents and told he is not good enough. He made it to the top regardless and still at a great age. He shows you should never take the criticism as a final verdict and, equally, he is in such good form because he has not been carried away by a lot of praise."