Grant hails Hitzlsperger quality

Hitzlsperger was the Hammers' marquee summer last summer, leaving Italian giants Lazio to join the Londoners on a free transfer. The former Aston Villa midfielder starred in the club's pre-season campaign and looked set to be a fixture in the side before he pulled his calf while playing for Germany against Denmark in August. He returned to training eight weeks later but suffered the agony of having the muscle come off the bone completely, ruling him out for four months. After two starts in the reserve team, Grant is ready to throw Hitzlsperger into action in Monday's FA Cup fifth-round clash with Burnley and predicts the Germany captain's quality and experience mean he will become a vital asset in the club's bid to avoid relegation. "He will play on Monday. I don't know how long but he will play," Grant said. "If he is like he was in the [pre-season] training camps and preparation he will be one of the best midfield players in the league because of his vision, touch and ability to score goals and provide assists. "He knows how to defend, he's clever, he was very good in every game - he scored or gave an assist. "This is one of the reasons why they made him captain of German team." How exactly Grant intends to fit Hitzlsperger into the team for the rest of the season is unclear. The former Aston Villa man has limited experience of playing down either flank and his favoured position is in central midfield, where Scott Parker and Mark Noble have developed a good partnership for the club this season. That does not worry manager Grant though, who is happy to have another experienced head available for what has so far been a disappointing campaign for the Upton Park club. "He can play in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 as holding midfielder or as an attacking midfielder," the Israeli said. "I have had a headache for most of the games this season because of the number of injuries. "Against Blackpool we were missing five or six players. This is another kind of headache. It is not easy but I like it more." Grant plans to name a strong side for Monday's match against the npower Championship team and is hoping a cup win will take the focus off his side's season-long fight against relegation. Grant has fond memories of the FA Cup having overcome the odds to take Portsmouth to the final last year when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea. A leaked memo this week suggested that organisers are planning to change the competition's format to scrap replays and move the final kick-off to the evening. Grant is a big fan of how the competition is now though. He said: "I like the tradition of the FA Cup, I like it very much. "I don't feel it needs to change because it is unique. "We have a problem because games are becoming more and more demanding but we must always think about the people who are coming to watch the game. "They like the tradition of the game, they like the tradition of the past."