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Premier League: West Brom boss Alan Irvine wary of Manchester United threat

Alan Irvine, West Brom v Burnley, Premier League
Image: Alan Irvine: West Brom boss can take his team into the top half with a win over Manchester United.

West Brom boss Alan Irvine insists Manchester United are still a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League, ahead of their visit to The Hawthorns on Monday.

After a shaky start to the season under Louis Van Gaal, United travel to take on the Baggies with renewed confidence after consecutive wins over West Ham and Everton.

Irvine acknowledged United are a team in transition but he remains wary of the threat posed by players such as Angel di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie.

"They are still Manchester United and have some great players,” Irvine said. “It's going to be a huge game for our club, players and fans.

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"When the fixtures come out, most people up and down the country look to see when they are playing Manchester United at home.

"They have been a fantastic team over the years but the squad was looking like it was going to need some changes and I read something from Sir Alex Ferguson saying it has needed an overhaul.

"It was getting to that time and David Moyes inherited that situation. It's a period of transition.

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"Manchester United have been dominant for many years so they are eventually going to have to change and that's the situation they are in at the moment."

Level

West Brom can move level with United on points with a win and Irvine believes a high work rate and composure on the ball will be the keys to success against Van Gaal’s side.

"They will work the ball out and we've got to make sure they don't get moves started easily," he said.

"We've done our video work and there are clips of them scoring goals where it starts with the goalkeeper and ends up in the back of the net.

"Clearly that involves a lot of control and a lot of movement and good positioning of their players.

"We've got to be really well organised when we don't have the ball in order to stop them building these attacks.

"But one of the things we've spoken about is the need for us to be really good with the ball and not give it back really cheaply to players of the quality of Manchester United."

Watch West Brom v Manchester United live on Sky Sports 1 from 7pm on Monday.

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