West Ham appeared to be in the race for a top four

West Ham appeared to be in the race for a top four only a few weeks ago, but they have now failed to win in the last four matches.

A long list of injuries coupled with poor form to some of the top players means that West Ham manager is unsure of the next three points for his team. A daunting trip to face Manchester United at Old Trafford awaits the team. West Ham boss Slaven Bilic has been able to transform the fortunes of the team especially against the big four. Victories over the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester City were not surprising given their performance in these games.

Given their recent form, however, it will be difficult to expect a victory at Old Trafford. United are traditionally strong at their home and van Gaal has made it a priority to make Old Trafford as a fortress. Bilic is aware that getting anything from this weekend’s game will be difficult and it will only add to the winless run that his team has been experiencing. However, he wants to use the inspiration of Carlos Tevez in order to get a result. Tevez spent only a short period with West Ham, but he helped them avoid relegation and inspired them to bigger things.

“We travel to Old Trafford tomorrow and the last time a West Ham team won there was in May 2007 when Carlos Tevez scored the only goal to keep the club up. The way we avoided relegation that year was a miracle. It maybe wasn’t quite like Leicester last season but the run that team went on to avoid relegation — seven wins from their last nine games — was unbelievable, especially with the grand finale of winning against United, who had just been crowned champions again,” said Bilic.