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| Oxford made his Premier League debut in West Ham's 2-0 win at Arsenal on the opening day |
SLAVEN BILIC hopes the emergence of 16-year-old sensation Reece Oxford is just the tip of the iceberg - because he wants to turn the West Ham academy back into the envy of the Premier League.
The Croatian played at Upton Park in 1996 and 1997 alongside teenagers Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand. "West Ham was always known for really producing really good players," Bilic recalled. "In the last 15-20 years, maybe the best academy in England, if you take Ferdinand, Lampard, Carrick, Johnson, Joe Cole and many, many more. We will try to do it again."
Bilic has been careful to ensure Oxford has kept his feet grounded this week after he earned widespread praise for his role in West Ham's 2-0 win at the Emirates on Sunday. There is every chance he may return to the bench against Leicester today with Carl Jenkinson eligible again and Pedro Obiang returning to fitness.
The Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri admits he is prepared to allow his players to slack -- provided they keep producing the goods on the pitch.
Ranieri wanted to introduce six-day weeks with double training sessions after taking over from Nigel Pearson. But he admits he would be "crazy" to change things now on the back of eight wins in the Foxes' last 10 games.
"I'm not used to giving one day off after the match. Two days training session, one day off, another two training sessions," he said. "But I came here and this team, with this staff, won the Championship, saved their place in the Premier League and finished with a fantastic final rush. So why would I change it?"
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