Shrewsbury Town vs West Ham: David Moyes willing to sacrifice FA Cup for Premier League safety

Whilst Salop have been flying in League One this season, the Hammers have struggled to avoid a relegation fight in the Premier League - with Slaven Bilic sacked after falling into the relegation zone in November.

However, Moyes, who played for the Shrews between 1987 and 1990, has so far failed to right the ship completely, and has admitted that Premier League safety will always trump cup competitions in his view.

"Do you not think the position you are in now the focus would only be on your Premier League status?" Moyes said, when asked about balancing the FA Cup with the Premier League.

“Because if you’ve not got Premier League status, and then you’re talking about winning the Cup, you’ve still got to beat all the teams to get there."

“So it’s a difficult one, it’s not an easy one to say what would be the way."

Whilst West Ham go into the game at the Montgomery Waters Meadow as favourites thanks to their Premier League status, Moyes doesn't believe that an extended run will be beneficial for his side.

And while he would love to win the competition - risking Premier League football by starting his star players in the cup is clearly not on his mind.

“Do I want to win the FA Cup? One hundred per cent. But I don’t think it can be where we can damage our league season." he continued.

“And actually if we got through to the next round our next two games are on the Tuesday against Crystal Palace and Brighton on the Saturday after the fourth round.

“So in a way, to play the FA Cup and then you’ve got a Premier League game on the Tuesday night and a Premier League game the following Saturday, you are saying ‘wait a minute here, it’s nearly becoming impossible for us to find the players’.

“If I could win the cup I would definitely try to win the cup, but I couldn’t do it if I thought it would affect the Premier League.”