West Ham confirm Julian Dicks appointment as coaching assistant to Slaven Bilic

West Ham United hero Julian Dicks has returned to the first team at Upton Park as a coaching assistant to new manager Slaven Bilic, the club confirmed on 29 June via their official website.

The 46 year old, affectionately nicknamed 'The Terminator' by supporters due to his no-nonsense style and uncompromising approach, made 326 appearances for the Hammers during two stints as a player between 1988-93 and 1994-99.

Dicks spent last season in charge of West Ham United Ladies, guiding them to a sixth-place finish in the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division after being appointed as Mark Saunderson's replacement in July 2014.

He will now leave that role, joining former teammate Bilic in a move the former Liverpool and Canvey Island defender has hailed as a "dream come true".

"To be joining the first team coaching staff at my club is fantastic news for me," he said. "I was with the Ladies last year and I thoroughly enjoyed that, but to get the opportunity to work with Slaven, his coaching staff and the first team players is a dream come true.

"This is a Premier League club with some very good players already in the squad and some more very good players set to come in this summer. It is exciting times for me and exciting times for West Ham. I met up with Slaven last week and, although we had not met in person for a few years, it was like we had never been apart. We had a hug and a kiss and sat down and talked all about West Ham and all about football.

"We had a great relationship when we played together in the same team here and I am sure we will work well together again as manager and coach."

Bilic was named as West Ham's new manager earlier this month after strong suspicions that Sam Allardyce would not have his contract renewed were confirmed shortly after the final match of the 2014/15 season.

As another ex-player, his appointment has been generally well received and Dicks expressed excitement at the style of play the Croatian will bring.

He added: "Slaven was a top player and he has gone on to become a very good manager. His teams play a high-tempo pressing game and I am sure he will instil that style of play here at West Ham.

"I have always said that the first quality that players must illustrate is hard work. If you then have very good players who work very hard, then you can achieve great things and hopefully we can do that here at West Ham. I understand that I will be involved on the training pitch and in the meetings and I cannot wait to get down to work with Slaven, his assistant and his other coaches."

Bilic began in management with Hadjuk Split before significantly enhancing his reputation during a six-year stint in charge of the Croatian national team.

He joined Lokomotiv Moscow in 2012 and spent two seasons at Besiktas before returning to West Ham.

Bilic has made three signings so far this summer, with French winger Dimitri Payet joining Pedro Obiang and goalkeeper Darren Randolph in East London last week.