Slaven Bilic had nothing but praise for Darren Randolph after he earned a man of the match display to help the Hammers earn a replay against Liverpool in the Emirates FA Cup tie at Anfield.
Randolph has been forced to wait patiently for his chance but he showed everyone his quality once again with a number of fine blocks – including a superb triple save in the second half.
Adrian flew back to Spain to be with his wife ahead of the birth of their first baby, but the Hammers boss confirmed that Randolph was always going to start the game and will be the Hammers keeper in the FA Cup this season.
Bilic said: “Darren was supposed to start anyway and it was not because Adrian went back to Spain. We wish his wife well.
“Darren was in goal against Wolves and he is going to play in the cup because he is a great goalkeeper and he deserves to have his games.
“He has never let us down and every day he shows in training what he can do. It was a great triple save in the second half but every time he did well for us."
Bilic had nothing but praise for his players after they managed to keep another clean sheet at Anfield and is already looking forward to the replay which takes place at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday 9 February.
Bilic added: “We got a draw and kept a clean sheet. We had good defending and we deserved a replay.
“It is not ideal because nobody wants a replay at this stage of the season but we can live with one.
“It is going to be another great football night with an FA Cup replay at the Boleyn Ground and we are going to try and knock them out.”
The Hammers boss revealed that James Tomkins remains a doubt for the Premier League game against Aston Villa on Tuesday night after he suffered a head injury, but Cheikhou Kouyate should be ready to take his place despite leaving the pitch towards the end of the first half.