Sunday 13 March 2016 12:31, UK
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has said that Manchester United lack a world-class striker ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final match up at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Hammers boss believes that the absence of a big-name forward in their squad is the reason for United's disappointing season under Louis van Gaal, and thinks his side can take full advantage of their unconvincing form.
His comments follow-on from those of Manchester United great Paul Scholes, who remarked after their first-leg defeat to Liverpool in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday that his former side lack real leaders.
Van Gaal's side will again be without Wayne Rooney on Sunday, have managed to score just 19 times in their last 14 home league matches this season and have scored only once in their last three outings.
Bilic believes that while Rooney is injured, other strikers such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are too young and inexperienced to maintain consistency.
"Under Sir Alex Ferguson, if you see the names that played up front for them, they were either at a better age or were bigger names or better goalscorers," said Bilic.
"Now Van Gaal has some really young, talented players who are definitely going to be that, but simply they are not that consistent because of their age, and because of the situation it is very hard to be confident if you are a Manchester United player.
"But to be fair, they don't have a Sergio Aguero or a Ruud van Nistelrooy or Cristiano Ronaldo, and Rooney is injured."
West Ham head into the clash on the back of three straight league wins against Sunderland, Tottenham and Everton, while their opponents, by contrast, come into the match after the 2-0 loss against Liverpool.
Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll have all returned to action following injuries earlier in the season, and Bilic says his team are both confident and motivated to reach the next round.
"If you are asking me if we are confident, we are confident because we are playing good, we are training good. We are buzzing," he added.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, if you see the names that played up front for them, they were either at a better age or were bigger names or better goalscorers.
"If there is time to train, we are training hard. That is the biggest secret. We have good players who are hungry, who are motivated.
"Now we have the players back from injuries, we have 18 players that you can easily treat as regulars."
Bilic can also welcome back defender Joey O'Brien and wingers Victor Moses and Enner Valencia from injury for the Old Trafford clash.
