Slaven Bilic says victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday would help erase the memory of losing to giant-killers Wrexham
Slaven Bilic says Emirates FA Cup victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday would help erase the memory of losing to giant-killers Wrexham.
Bilic was in his second season as a player at the Boleyn Ground when the Premier League West Ham United were knocked out by the Second Division side from North Wales.
The Croatian missed the first tie – a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse Ground – to attend the birth of his son Leo, but was back in the side for the replay, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Dragons.
While the manager says defeat by Championship club Blackburn at Ewood Park would not be classed as anywhere near as big of an upset, he is determined to put the nightmare of defeat by lower-division opposition behind him this weekend.
“The first game we played it was 1-1 at Wrexham and I didn’t play because my son Leo was born on that day,” he said. “It was 4 January 1997. I was in hospital and Hugo Porfírio scored exactly in the minute when my son was born. The replay here, it was one of the really bad memories. There were police on horses and all that, because the fans wanted the chairman to sign a striker.
“We were struggling. We weren’t conceding a lot of goals but we couldn’t score and then Wrexham came and they scored at the end of the game, a great goal from 25 yards. After that we signed Johnny Hartson and Paul Kitson and we stayed up.
“Make no mistake, I am expecting a very tough game and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if a club like Blackburn, at home, beats a Premier League side in the FA Cup. It’s happened many, many times before.”
West Ham will travel to Lancashire without the injured Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia, while the tie has come too soon for Diafra Sakho and Winston Reid.
However, loan signing Emmanuel Emenike could lead the line from kick-off for the first time since his January arrival from Turkish football, while Cheikhou Kouyate is available again after coming through the concussion protocol, and former Blackburn loanee Doneil Henry is fit again and included in Bilic’s squad.
Meanwhile, youngsters George Dobson, and Alex Pike could join fellow Academy stars Reece Oxford, Marcus Browne, Djair Parfitt-Williams and Sam Howes in the squad, with Sunday’s trip providing them with valuable experience of being in and around the first-team squad.
Bilic was in his second season as a player at the Boleyn Ground when the Premier League West Ham United were knocked out by the Second Division side from North Wales.
The Croatian missed the first tie – a 1-1 draw at the Racecourse Ground – to attend the birth of his son Leo, but was back in the side for the replay, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Dragons.
While the manager says defeat by Championship club Blackburn at Ewood Park would not be classed as anywhere near as big of an upset, he is determined to put the nightmare of defeat by lower-division opposition behind him this weekend.
“The first game we played it was 1-1 at Wrexham and I didn’t play because my son Leo was born on that day,” he said. “It was 4 January 1997. I was in hospital and Hugo Porfírio scored exactly in the minute when my son was born. The replay here, it was one of the really bad memories. There were police on horses and all that, because the fans wanted the chairman to sign a striker.
“We were struggling. We weren’t conceding a lot of goals but we couldn’t score and then Wrexham came and they scored at the end of the game, a great goal from 25 yards. After that we signed Johnny Hartson and Paul Kitson and we stayed up.
“Make no mistake, I am expecting a very tough game and it wouldn’t be a big surprise if a club like Blackburn, at home, beats a Premier League side in the FA Cup. It’s happened many, many times before.”
West Ham will travel to Lancashire without the injured Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia, while the tie has come too soon for Diafra Sakho and Winston Reid.
However, loan signing Emmanuel Emenike could lead the line from kick-off for the first time since his January arrival from Turkish football, while Cheikhou Kouyate is available again after coming through the concussion protocol, and former Blackburn loanee Doneil Henry is fit again and included in Bilic’s squad.
Meanwhile, youngsters George Dobson, and Alex Pike could join fellow Academy stars Reece Oxford, Marcus Browne, Djair Parfitt-Williams and Sam Howes in the squad, with Sunday’s trip providing them with valuable experience of being in and around the first-team squad.