West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has publicly backed manager Slaven Bilic, despite the club's poor form in the Premier League.

After Saturday's 5-1 defeat to Arsenal, it was claimed that Bilic faced a battle to keep his job at the London Stadium, but it has since been reported that the Hammers will give the Croatian time to turn things around in East London.

Sullivan has backed up those claims with a statement on the club's official website, where he calls on everyone involved to stick together heading into the Christmas period.

He said: "I saw Slaven's comments after the game and as always he was completely honest with his assessment. Slaven cares passionately about the football club and this defeat will be hurting him as much as anyone.

"I have no doubts that he is doing everything he can to address the situation and everyone is working together to ensure we turn our season around.

"We cannot forget the amazing job that Slaven did in his first season at the Club. With a bit more luck he could have taken us into the top four. His passion, commitment and outstanding track record at the highest level were among the many reasons we appointed Slaven in the summer of 2015.

"Despite what some people have said, there is still a great spirit among the players and everyone is working towards the same objective. We all need to stick together and get behind the team. We are all part of the West Ham United family and in hard times families pull together."

Ahead of this weekend's trip to Liverpool, West Ham sit just above the relegation zone in the league table.