Why Man Utd fear silent assassin in West Brom

Roy Hodgson has sent two Premier League managers packing – Mick McCarthy from Wolves and Andre Villas-Boas from Chelsea.

Both were sacked after his West Brom side beat their teams this season.

It’s unlikely Sir Alex Ferguson will be walking the plank at Old Trafford should West Bromwich Albion (though Arsene Wenger must be wondering why no one calls for Fergie’s head when his team get run over by the likes of Atletic Bilbao) continue their unbeaten streak against the Red Devils.

But, and nobody knows this better than Sir Alex, this is no gimme game.

"Roy probably couldn't win at Anfield really," Sir Alex told Red View, the club’s magazine of Hodgson's stint as Liverpool coach. "Sometimes timing is bad for certain jobs and that was bad timing for him. But there is no disputing his ability, his credibility and the career he's had over the years. You can't dismiss that."

The Baggies have taken nine points out of nine since losing to Swansea.

"West Brom are in a bit of form - they've won their last three games and scored five at Wolves and beat Chelsea," said Sir Alex.  "Roy always has his teams organised and it'll be the same on Sunday. But we're at home and we're expected to win our games at home so hopefully we can put the [Athletic Club] result behind us.

Defender Chris Smalling also spoke exclusively to Red View about Sunday's meeting with West Brom.

He said, “They were the team who put a little blemish on our home record last year. Roy Hodgson, a manager I know, has since gone there and done very well. No game is easy in this league. It's often the case that teams who are written off will go out and do something special, like West Brom beating Chelsea last weekend, for the first time in the Premier League. It's going to be another big test for us as we try to keep the pressure up [on City]. “ On playing against his old boss, Roy Hodgson managed Smalling at Fulham, the defender said, “He's very meticulous. We had a lot of video analysis sessions with him at Fulham, and did a lot of work on our team shape. He made sure that every player knew his job. It seems that approach is working for him again at West Brom and I'm glad he's doing well.”

On the final run-in, Smalling, added,  “We need to make sure we set our stall out, win our games and hopefully score a few goals in the run-in. There are only 11 games to go and each one will be like a cup final. We'll definitely be treating them like that.”