Sir Trevor Brooking is hoping to see West Ham United put together an FA Cup run this season, as they prepare for a tricky Third Round tie with Nottingham Forest.
The former Hammers and England midfielder, who scored the winning goal when West Ham last won The Cup in 1980, still believes his old club can taste success in the competition.
But with recent form in the Premier League seeing West Ham slip down the table, Brooking knows they will have to show their resilient side on Sunday when they travel to the City Ground.
Sir Trevor Brooking believes West Ham can succeed in The FA Cup.
“Forest away is a tough Third Round tie,” he told TheFA.com.
“And it's on the television because the TV company are hoping that Forest will knock West Ham out, as it's a Premier League club losing.”
If West Ham can avoid defeat against Billy Davies side, Brooking sees no reason why they can’t make strides into the later stages of the competition.
They reached The Final in Cardiff in 2005 and were only minutes away from beating Liverpool, until Steven Gerrard’s injury-time stunner took the game to extra time and penalties, which were duly won by Liverpool.
Nottingham Forest v West Ham Utd
The FA Cup with Budweiser
Third Round Proper
12noon, Sunday 5 January 2014
The City Ground
Winners receive £67,500
Live on BT Sport
And Brooking believes Sam Allardyce’s team can beat anyone on their day, just as easily as they could slip up.
"West Ham are the sort of team who can win cups because we can beat anyone, but we can also lose to anyone which isn't so great,” he added.
"Let's see what happens in the game, but West Ham are quite capable of winning cup competitions and to a certain extent that's always their best avenue for a trophy."
Watch the interview with Brooking, The FA's Director Of Football Development, in the video player above.
