Bilic will not take West Ham job

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has ruled out a return to West Ham to fill the vacancy left by Alan Curbishley's resignation.

Bilic spent 18 months at West Ham as a player and is one of the favourites for the job.

He emerged as one of the best coaches in Europe when he guided Croatia to the quarter-finals at Euro 2008, beating England twice in the qualifiers.

Reports suggest he could earn far more money in the Premier League than he does with Croatia but Bilic claims he cannot be tempted away from his current job.

He said: "Any club from England is a great opportunity. Not for money, honestly, for me it's about ambition. It's about working in England, a country you know I adore.

"But it's like, no. West Ham is my club, I have feelings for them but I won't go. And I won't go to Newcastle."

Bilic signed an extended contract with Croatia in May and he has hinted he will remain in charge until the 2010 World Cup.

He added: "I had many offers in the period between our win at Wembley last November until I signed a new deal in May.

"I decided to stay. Whether that's good for me only God knows."

West Ham have made it known Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Donadoni both gave impressive interviews and they are planning to interview Denmark legend Michael Laudrup for the vacancy.

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