Slaven Bilic has confessed that this season has not been good enough for West Ham United, but says that he is "optimistic" for the future of the club.
The Hammers find themselves 12th in the table on 42 points, exactly 20 fewer than they accumulated after 38 games in the Croat's first campaign at the helm.
After digging themselves out of a potential relegation dogfight at one point, West Ham have managed to improve sufficiently and could still finish inside the top half.
Ahead of Sunday's final league game against Burnley at Turf Moor, Bilic insists that valuable lessons can be taken away from this season.
"It's always very important, it's the last game. We can still improve our position but it's the last game, we have to try to win it and end well," he told reporters. "It is of course a very important game to get as many points as we possibly can. Very difficult. Not only for us but the teams around us as well.
"The table shows that there are the big six clubs, then Everton, then five, six, seven all within three or four points of each other so it has been tough for all of us. Considering everything - the move, the injuries, the situation with some players, we have got that minimum goal and I have to praise the players for that.
"In the crucial moments, in March when we lost five games, we bounced back and have done well. Every time we were, not in trouble but maybe one game away from it, we did really well.
"I can say that [improvement is required] because if we stay out of injuries and if we improve our squad, we have settled into our new home, I am expecting us to benefit a lot from this season. You build your character individually and as a team when it gets tough so that's why I am optimistic ahead of next season."
Bilic also confirmed that defender Winston Reid will be back for the start of next season after undergoing surgery on his knee.
Daniel Lewis
