Slaven Bilic says changing the colour around the London Stadium pitch will help West Ham

We are looking forward to being back at the London Stadium tonight, for our match against Brighton.

Every time we play there, it feels more and more like our home but we want to make it even better.

One idea we have had is to change the colour of a large part of the surrounding area which frames the pitch.

We have a great stadium but we want to improve it even more, to make it like, for example, the Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain.

If you look at their stadium, they have changed the colour of the area around their pitch to blue. We want to do something similar and change to a darker colour - claret.

Let me explain it like this. It is impossible to bring the crowd closer but we can improve things by changing the perspective.

Imagine you are a player, you are running back to defend or you are joining the attack - you look up and it is not easy, because everything is green ahead of you, to appreciate exactly where is the end of the pitch and that can psychologically affect your willingness to do it.

We have done everything we can to receive permission to do this, especially our vice chairman Karren Brady. I am mentioning it almost every time I meet her.

I know Karren has tried very hard and talked to all of the parties involved but we can’t seem to get the necessary permission from the powers that be. It’s not clear to me why but I believe it would make a big difference, so I am hoping approval will be given soon.

We have even offered to pay for the work which, I understand, would cost around £200,000.

If I say that tonight’s match against Brighton sees the start of a big eight days for us, then that is insinuating there must be ‘small days’ in English football at the highest level.

That’s not true, of course. Every week, every day, almost every hour, is big as far as West Ham, Brighton and the rest of the Premier League clubs are concerned.

That said, I am excited about the next eight days for us, with Brighton followed by Wednesday’s League Cup tie against Spurs at Wembley and then Crystal Palace away the following Saturday.

The good thing about the next week is that we have most of the squad available. There was a doubt about Javier Hernandez when he felt a tight hamstring in training on Tuesday but provided there is no further reaction, I am expecting him to be fit.

​Diafra Sakho, though, felt a twinge in his back this week so he won’t be in the squad for tonight.

As a manager, you don’t want to think about Spurs and Palace now, just before we play Brighton, yet on the other hand I have to plan ahead. Tonight first, though, there are three points at stake and we want to continue our improved run with just one defeat in the last six matches.

I am hoping, actually expecting, a big performance from us tonight. Apart from the couple of players who are injured, the rest are in good condition and getting even stronger, particularly Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio who needed games.

Manuel, in particular, will become more and more influential the fitter he becomes. The West Ham fans will know all about his ability from the last two seasons and so do the players because his presence makes them play better.

I know some people will say that there is no such thing as a one- or a two-man team and, of course, we are not rubbish if he does not play. He is a game-changer, though, and a lot of teams have that kind of player.

I watched Chelsea play Roma on Wednesday night and they badly missed N’Golo Kante. Spurs would not be the same without Harry Kane or Christian Eriksen. How about Liverpool without Sadio Mane?

I know the fans want to see us win, especially at home, and I also know they want us to excite them. We weren’t able to do that in our previous couple of Premier League games at home because we had first to stop conceding too many goals.

Now, though, I feel we are ready to go up a gear or two. One terrific passing sequence at Burnley ended with Michail shooting at their goalkeeper and that is the type of football I want to see from us in all our games, not minute after minute, of course, but certainly when we can. That is what the crowd want, that is what the players want, that is what myself and the staff want, that is what the media want.

That sort of football makes you bigger, more confident, and that sort of football makes you smile.

I am sorry that Andy Carroll is not in our team tonight. I thought his first booking at Burnley was what I call a ‘home yellow’ but then, to do what he did so soon afterwards, was stupid.

Yes, he let people down but most of all, he let himself down. I told him that and he knows.

It wasn’t premeditated and no one can tell me he did it knowing he was going to get a red card. He has to be more clever, though. He’s experienced enough now to know he just can’t do things like that.

I was honoured to meet the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at the Coach Core Graduation ceremony at our Stadium on Wednesday.

We presented the Duke and Duchess with shirts for their two children, George and Charlotte.

Prince William, I understand, is an Aston Villa supporter but he said: “At least it is the right colour!”

I spoke with Prince Harry as well, about the Coach Core project and the stadium. He said he is more a rugby man but that he loves football as well.

I would just to clear up the speculation surrounding Reece Oxford. He is on a season-long loan at Borussia Monchengladbach and there have been stories that he is coming back early. That is not true. He is at a very good club, in a great league, but he does need to play.

Hopefully, that will happen during the rest of the time he is there. I still remember his debut in my first Premier League game as West Ham manager at Arsenal, so we know he has the ability.