From the Boardroom - David Gold

West Ham United Joint-Chairman David Gold looks ahead to the big game at Old Trafford

We have obviously had some bad news with the injury to Diafra Sakho. It is a setback for the Club and disappointing as we have already lost Dimitri and Enner.


You only have to look at his stats to see the area he covers in a match and works as hard as any other centre-forward in the Premier League.


There is no doubt he will be missed but we do have strength in depth and this gives the opportunity for someone else to come in and show what they can do.


We must not forget that we have a player in Andy Carroll who became the Club's record signing.


His injuries are hopefully behind him and he is strong and injury free. He needs first-team action and I hope we get to see the best of him in the coming weeks and months.


We were unlucky not to come away with a victory against West Brom last weekend and we could have easily scored three goals in the first half.


It was a superb free-kick from Mauro and we had some great individual performances in the opening 45 minutes but we were not able to find another goal.


Zarate and Lanzini are quality players and they can cause problems for any team.


We now head to Manchester United having already beaten four of the big clubs in England and there is no reason why we cannot do the same again.


I have been told that we can become the first club in two decades to record a victory over the 'big five' in one season and it would be an impressive achievement.


Sadly my memories of going to Old Trafford over the last few years have not been the best but this is a different side with some outstanding players.


One of my biggest memories of playing Manchester United came back in 1964 when we beat them in the FA Cup semi-final and we then went on to beat Preston in the final.


We are coming up against one of the big characters in the Premier League when we face Louis van Gaal. He can be very amusing in his press conferences, but we hope he will not have too much to smile about after the game.


We have a big boost with Club captain Mark Noble available again after suspension and that gives Slaven some big options to choose from in the midfield.


Alex Song has been back in contention for the last two games and with Pedro Obiang also back to full fitness we have a lot of strength in that area.


We have had four big away wins this season and there is no reason why we cannot be celebrating once again at Old Trafford on Saturday.


I wish all our supporters a safe journey up to Manchester.