West Ham United head coach Slaven Bilic believes the success of Leicester City and his own team this season is evidence of a permanent change to the Premier League’s established order.

The Foxes sit top of the table – five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in second – while the Hammers are a point shy of the Champions League places in fifth.

Champions Chelsea have faltered spectacularly and find themselves tenth, Arsenal are now eight points off the summit and Manchester United are battling with Manchester City for a Champions League spot.

The Hammers and Foxes' success is down to more than just the shortcomings of the traditional big four, though.

Speaking to the club’s website, Bilic put across his theory behind the rise of smaller teams.

He said: “Let’s say Manchester City and Chelsea want to buy a striker. They can buy, I don’t know, (Karim) Benzema, but they have (Sergio) Aguero. There’s no big space for them to improve.

“For the clubs like us, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion, maybe two years they would have to sell to get (Salomon) Rondon, but now they can get Rondon.

“Next year, if you are clever with more investment you can keep those players. Crystal Palace can keep (Yohan) Cabaye and buy another one. So those teams have more room to improve.

“That’s why I think this is a hopefully a permanent shift.”