West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has revealed that he is "very optimistic" about the season ahead.

The Hammers ended the last campaign in 12th place in the Premier League table before parting company with manager Sam Allardyce.

Former West Ham defender Slaven Bilic took charge of the team earlier this summer, and Gold is confident that the Croatian will guide them to a higher finish this term.

"We are very optimistic and I believe we have a better squad of players than we had last season and we are not finished yet," he told Sky Sports News.

"We finished 12th but at Christmas we were sitting in fourth place, so I am optimistic and the fans are optimistic. Slaven is a passionate manager and already the fans are warming towards him. Collectively I think we will have a good season."

West Ham start the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Arsenal on Sunday.