Mullins warns Bolton over replay
Hayden Mullins has warned Bolton that West Ham are out for revenge in tomorrow night’s FA Cup fifth round replay at Upton Park.
The two sides have already met four times this season and West Ham’s best return was the battling goalless draw that set up this replay.
Bolton knocked them out of the Carling Cup and won both Barclays Premiership games, including a 4-1 thrashing at the Reebok Stadium only last Saturday.
But the Hammers are set to be back at full strength after boss Alan Pardew rested a a number of key players over the weekend.
Anton Ferdinand is set to return from midfield to the heart of West Ham’s defence while Dean Ashton, Marlon Harewood, Yossi Benayoun and Nigel Reo-Coker are all in line to start.
And Mullins warned they have a few old scores to settle with Bolton.
“It was a massive disappointment on Saturday, and not a nice game to be involved in,” said Mullins.
“We were never at the races – but the good thing is we’ve got a chance to put things right immediately.
“And the feeling among all the lads is that it is going to be a very different game tomorrow night.
“We should have beaten Bolton at our place back in August and two of the matches at the Reebok Stadium have been very close, so we have nothing to fear.
“We will approach the game feeling confident and we know that, if we play to our potential, it is a match we can win.”
Mullins insists one defeat, particularly given the makeshift nature of the side, will not be allowed to undermine all the progress West Ham have made this season.
Defeat at the Reebok brought to an end West Ham’s run of nine games without a loss, which included a club record seven straight wins.
“There’s no point in getting too depressed about the result on Saturday or letting our heads go down. If we do that it will be the season over,” said Mullins.
“We’ve been on a great run this year, and we’re still in a great position to push on and finish the season well.”
And Mullins believes returning to Upton Park, under lights and on a surface designed for West Ham’s fluid style of play, will be a major advantage.
“I’m not making any excuses, but the pitch at Bolton is one of the worst in the Premiership and made it difficult to play the kind of football we have played at home this season,” he told the club website, www.whufc.com.
