West Ham boss David Moyes is weighing up writing off this season's FA Cup.

Moyes knows their fans were furious four years ago when, also during a relegation battle, then-boss Sam Allardyce fielded an under-strength side that crashed out of the cup at Nottingham Forest.

But ahead of their Cup tie with Shrewsbury Town, the Scot argued: "I remember that. But do you not think the position you are in now, the focus would only be on your Premier League status?

"Because if you've not got Premier League status and you're talking about winning the cup, you've still got to beat all the teams to get there.

"So it's a difficult one — not easy to say what would be the way. Do I want to win the FA Cup? 100 per cent. But I don't think it can be where we can damage our league season.

"And actually, if we got through to the fourth round [on the final weekend of January], our next two games are on the Tuesday against Crystal Palace and Brighton [both fellow relegation candidates] on the Saturday.

"So, in a way, to play the FA Cup and then you've got a Premier League game on the Tuesday night and a Premier League game the following Saturday, you are saying, 'Wait a minute here — it's nearly becoming impossible for us to find the players.'

"If I could win the cup, I would definitely try to win the cup. But I couldn't do it if I thought it would affect the Premier League."