The Premier League season is rapidly drawing to a close and the FA Cup final is just around the corner. 8 teams are left in the competition and all are fighting for a chance to play at the iconic Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 fans. No one seems to want that more than West Ham manager Slaven Bilic.
After West Ham’s recent wins against Sunderland, Tottenham and Everton, Bilic wants his side to play to their strengths on Sunday against Manchester United. Old Trafford is never an easy place to go to but with their recent form and players coming back, this is possibly the best time to go. Slaven Bilic spoke to the media ahead of what looks to be a tough FA Cup tie, as reported by the club’s official site.
Bilic revealed the latest team news.
Victor Moses, Enner Valencia and Joey O’Brien are all back, Winston is training with us today after a week training individually with the physios. Then, we have James Tomkins who has also been back with us and James Collins as well, but they will both be out for the game against Manchester United. Of course, Darren Randolph will play as he has done in the previous rounds and he has always performed when he has come in for both club and country.
He also spoke about how good Manchester United are and how he thinks the game will pan out.
We all know that their game against Liverpool last night was not a normal game. It was at Anfield in an intimidating atmosphere and it is just a one-off game. On Sunday, they will be playing in front of their own fans and so unfortunately for us, we expect a better performance than last night. It is Manchester United and although they are under pressure they are capable of playing better and they have always bounced back after a tough loss, so it will be a tough game.
Bilic also spoke about West Ham’s exiting move to the Olympic Stadium and how pleased he is about a possible stadium expansion.
It only goes to show that we have a massive fan base. For lots of people, including me, I saw it as a big step to go from a 36,000 to a 54,000 capacity. But now it seems that this isn’t enough, and we may need 60,000. It shows that the board made a very brave decision to move from Upton Park and that we are moving in the right direction.
