THE SOUND OF SILENCE

"The fact they beat us two years ago should first and foremost get rid of any threat of a complacent attitude and I don't think we'll have that," Sir Alex said.

"And hopefully our fans don't just sit there and expect us to win and not get behind us. If we get the support we did at Blackburn, which was phenomenal, then it is a goal start for us. It was fantastic at Ewood and we need that again.

"When you face teams of quality you always have to be aware and West Ham have a lot of quality. Their priority is not the FA Cup. They would gladly give this game up to survive in the league.

"But they may get a respite in this from the pressure game in the league. That's why we have to be spot on."

Alex Ferguson thinks West Ham have to give Glen Roeder more time.

"Most of us in the game recognise the qualities of the man.

"He has shown great dignity in handling the situation. The manner in which he has behaved after each disappointing result, he deserves the chance of his club being in the Premiership next season.

"Despite their position, West Ham have played with freedom. They have quality in their team and they have always played football.

"That's not changed in the games I've watched them. That was the case when they played us a few weeks ago.

"The FA Cup might be the fillip they need in terms of a different type of competition.

"They know the most important thing for them is to be in the Premier Division. A cup run might be all right but sometimes you can be lodged between two stones."

Meanwhile Diego Forlan thinks West Ham will cause some problems today even if they aren't having a very good season.

"It's good for them to be playing in the FA Cup. Although, if you ask them they would say that they would want to play Premier League football, they don't want to go down. That will be their first target, but it is good to play in the FA Cup," he said.

"They played against us and lost last time, but they play a good game and they have good players. When you play against a team that has lost games it can be difficult. They want to win and that makes it difficult.

"West Ham have a good team. They are not winning but I think they have a good team," the Uruguayan told Manchester United Radio.

"I think it will be a tough game. They need to win, they want to win, and so they will really try to beat us."