West Ham United have announced the appointment of Nikola Jurcevic as their new assistant manager.

The 49-year-old will be reunited with his former Croatia teammate Slaven Bilic at Upton Park, after having already worked with the Hammers boss in his time in charge of the Croatian national side, Lokomotiv Moscow and Besiktas.

Jurcevic, who helped Bilic lead Croatia to two major tournaments, will join first-team coach Edin Terzic, head of performance Miljenko Rak, goalkeeper coach Chris Woods and coaching assistant Julian Dicks in the dugout.

Jurcevic told the club's website: "I am very excited to work in England because I think that Premier League is one of the best in the world. I have worked with Slaven for a number of years with the Croatian national team, Lokomotiv Moscow and Besiktas.

"He called me about West Ham and I said yes straight away. I know Slaven well and when I started my career as a coach in Croatia, Slaven called me when he was national coach and we worked together for six years. We are good friends but we have a similar view on football and we work really well together.

"I am professional, have a big experience in football having worked in Belgium, Austria, Germany and have played in the big tournaments in Europe. I also have the experience as a coach and will do my best for West Ham. I hope that we will be successful."

Jurcevic started his career as manager of NK Zagreb before taking up similar posts with Dinamo Zagreb, Austria Salzburg and Slaven Belupo, before assisting Bilic for the Croatian national side and in Russia and Turkey.

He will take his place in the dugout for the first time when the Irons travel to the Etihad to face Manchester City tomorrow.