First-place Manchester United will look to sustain its foothold atop the Premier League tables when they face off against West Ham at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

West Ham player Andy Carroll scored the club's only goal in their 3-1 loss at the hands of Tottenham this past weekend. Interestingly enough, this was the first time Carroll hit the back of the net in the Premier League since he played for Liverpool in April.

The struggling striker was depicted as a surplus of Liverpool's requirements upon the Brendan Rogers take over during the summer, which ultimately led to his loan to West Ham.

Man United's Sir Alex Ferguson called out former Reds skipper Kenny Dalgash on behalf of his decision to invest such a large amount of money in Carroll. Ferguson felt that Dalgash may not have made the best of moves when he inked Carroll from Newcastle, according to the Mirror.

"He'd played a lot of games for Newcastle and had to deal with a 35 million (pound) transfer to a club like Liverpool. He was young and it was quite a big jump for him for that kind of money," he said. "We've gambled on a couple players in the past, a couple of million, something like that.  But when you get to that level of 35 million, you need a bit more homework, and see how he is in the second season, maybe."

"Now it's up to the boy to prove himself. He's a great header of the ball and very aggressive. He'll be a handful on Wednesday (now Thursday)," he added. 

While Ferguson's comments may serve as motivation for the struggling 23-year-old, his words were seemingly used to defend his very own team after they barely mustered out a 3-1 win against last-place QPR.

CLICK HERE to watch Manchester United face off against West Ham via free live stream. Coverage of the Premier League game will begin at 8 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, Nov. 28. 

Tags: English Premier League