Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in victory over FA Cup opponents West Ham United.

Ferguson was delighted with the two centre-backs, who both produced outstanding displays to thwart the Hammers' daunting physical presence and seal a comfortable 1-0 win at Old Trafford.

"Jones and Smalling were fantastic, absolutely brilliant," Sir Alex told MUTV. "The two of them were absolutely marvellous and I couldn't be more pleased. They have been injured for a while and needed games, so today would only help them.

"We have several other players who needed a game like Nani, Rooney, Anderson and Büttner. So we had six players who had a run-out at a crucial time of the season with Real Madrid coming up ad Tottenham on Sunday, so that is good news for us tonight."