West Ham need to take the cups seriously

There's a good article by Andy Dunn in today's Daily Mirror on the capitulation at Oxford. As Dunn says, West Ham fans are not going to remember a mid-table finish, but they would recall a trip to Wembley. In a season where we don't look like getting relegated there's no excuse for not giving it a go in the League Cup, our best hope of a trophy. 

Yes, there was a case for making a few changes. Yarmolenko is recovering from a long term injury so doesn't need two games in a week, Noble is now 32 so needs resting now and again, reserve keeper Roberto wants some games and Cresswell has only just come back into the side so could have been replaced by Masuaku. 

But WHU could still have fielded a side such as this: Roberto; Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Anderson, Rice, Fornals, Snodgrass; Ajeti, Haller. As the Mirror piece points out, going into the game knowing it was a reserve side didn't do much good for the players psychologically. When it comes to the FA Cup Pellegrini needs to take it seriously and play a proper side.