Expect more 'miraculous' stories like Leicester - Bilic
REUTERS - West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic is confident that Leicester City's remarkable rise heralds an end to a period of dominance by a select few clubs and is looking forward to a more unpredictable Premier League.
Leicester lead the division by five points with nine games to play in a season that has seen powerhouses such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool struggling to break into the top four, let alone challenge for the title.
Bilic, whose team are fifth in the table, two points ahead of United in sixth, described the Foxes' transformation from relegation strugglers last season to current title favourites as a miracle that could mark the start of a trend.
"I think this is a permanent shift at the top," the Croatian told British media after his team came from behind to defeat Everton 3-2 on Saturday.
"Our story is excellent but their (Leicester's) story is miraculous."
The 20 Premier League teams will share most of the 5.1 billion pounds ($7.2 billion) for live domestic TV coverage in a three-year deal starting next term and Bilic said the money would lead to even greater competition in the seasons to come.
"Say Manchester City buy Karim Benzema," he said. "They have Sergio Aguero already, so there is no big gap for them to improve.
"Chelsea can sell Diego Costa and buy Robert Lewandowski, yes, but they are only different, not better.
"But clubs like us, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Leicester, we can still improve with the money. Two years ago West Brom maybe could afford Salomon Rondon, but they would have had to sell Saido Berahino to get him.
"Now they can keep Berahino, so next year, with more investment, you can keep those players."
($1 = 0.7055 pounds)
(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)