New West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic believes he can guide his side to Champions League football in just a few seasons.

The Croat, who was officially appointed on Tuesday having left Besiktas, wants to first consolidate the Hammers’ Premier League status before pushing on.

Talking to the club website, he said: “The ambition is to try to be top ten, definitely and then improve on that. First season, [hopefully] we can finish eighth, ninth or tenth.

“Then, in the space of a few seasons, with the stadium and everything, with hype, with probably a little bit more budget, with good planning and good play, nobody can stop us dreaming of European places or if we have a brilliant season to try to break into the Champions League places.”

Sam Allardyce steered the Irons to a 12th-place finish last season but left the club after their final league game against Newcastle United.

And 46-year-old Bilic has arrived at Upton Park with huge hopes.

“[The ambition is] to win a trophy, to win a cup,” he continued. “You have to believe in that to achieve it. If you don’t believe in that then you’re definitely not going to do that.

“My nature is very optimistic, but realistically optimistic. I hope that we’re going to achieve big things with West Ham.”

Bilic spent time as a player with the Hammers in the ‘90s and made it clear he is excited to be back at the club where he spent 16 months as a player.

“West Ham is a special club,” stated. “Wherever I have gone, I have always said that some of the best days of my football life were during my one and a half seasons with West Ham.

“Every day was something special,” he added. “It is not only business; it is personal, it is emotional.”

Bilic joins the east Londoners after two years managing Besiktas in Turkey, where he achieved two third-place finishes.

He was previously manager of Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow, following a successful six-year stint as Croatia boss.