Manchester United 6 West Ham 0

The Red Devils demolition of West Ham was as clinical a footballing destruction as one Premiership club could administer to another, all be it in the fourthth round of the FA Cup.

In reality, the Mancunians could have doubled their tally against a poor Hammers side which must now return to their battle against relegation.

The foundation of the rout was laid with two first half goals by Ryan Giggs.

The Welshman, having his toughest season for many years, began as Ruud van Nistelrooy's striking partner but the jeers of recent weeks were forgotten as he put United ahead in the seventh minute.

Van Nistelrooy robbed Gary Breen on the right corner of the Hammers' box. The Dutchman teed up Paul Scholes on the edge of the penalty area and, although his shot was cleared off the line by Ian Pearce, Giggs pounced on the rebound to score with a right foot shot from six yards.

Giggs was again celebrating 22 minutes later when found unmarked on the edge of the West Ham box by Juan Sebastian Veron.

Giggs swung almost nonchalantly at the ball and his left foot shot looped off Breen and into the roof of the net.

Scholes struck the foot of a post with a crisp 35th minute shot, the culmination of a 27 pass move.

West Ham enjoyed a brief flourish towards the end of the first half when home goalkeeper Fabian Barthez saved brilliantly from Joe Cole and Lee Bowyer in quick succession, but the homes side piled on the agony for the Londoners after the interval.

With only three minutes of the second half gone, Veron found van Nistelrooy on the edge of the Hammers' box and his clever drag back gave him space to score with a right foot shot.

Two minutes later, Phil Neville played a superb one-two with substitute Diego Forlan on the left and continued his run into the West Ham box before scoring with a left foot shot from 12 yards.

Van Nistelrooy notched his second and the Red Devils fifth in the 58th minute.

David Beckham fed the Dutchman who beat off a challenge from Breen before rounding goalkeeper David James and slotting his right foot shot home from eight yards.

Sir Alex Ferguson's side made it six of the best after 69 minutes.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been on only six minutes when he was put clear on the right side of the West Ham box by van Nistelrooy's pass and he made no mistake with a low right foot shot beyond James from ten yards.