West Ham manager Slaven Bilic was respected by Beşiktaş fans and players according to Akhisar winger Ricardo Vaz Te.

Bilic was a fan favourite and was given a hero’s farewell when he left Beşiktaş at the end of last season.

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The former Croatia national team manager finished both of the two seasons he had in charge of the club in third place but Beşiktaş were playing without a home stadium and recovering from financial crisis.

“I think Bilic was and is well respected and is seen as having done a good job here in Turkey, at times with limited resources,” Vaz Te told the official West Ham website.

“He got a great reception from fans when he left and I know that he was well respected amongst the players.”

Vaz Te joined Akhisar from West Ham on a free transfer in January until the end of the season.

The Portuguese winger was the Hammers 2012 Championship Play-Off final hero and made 61 appearances for the club.

The 28-year-old scored five goals and provided five assists in 14 appearances for Akhisar this season.

The Akigolar were coached by Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos and finished the season in 12th place.