Mixed emotions for young Hammers star

7:29am Thursday 8th May 2008

WEST Ham youngster James Tomkins had mixed emotions after playing at Old Trafford for the first time in his budding career.

On the one hand, West Ham were well beaten 4-1 by Manchester United.

On the other, the 19-year-old centre back (pictured) put in another assured display - on his fifth appearance - against some of the Premier League's finest at the Theatre of Dreams.

"Obviously there is a lot of room for improvement, but I was fairly pleased with my performance," Tomkins told whutv.

"Playing at Old Trafford is unbelievable and to give half a decent performance was even more unbelievable.

"I was fairly happy but I was disappointed to end up losing."

The Hammers faced an uphill task after falling three goals behind within the opening 25 minutes, a Cristiano brace and a stunning third from former Hammer Carlos Tevez putting United into a commanding lead.

And, despite Dean Ashton pulling one back and United winger Nani seeing red for a clash with Lucas Neill before half time, it was another ex-Iron, Michael Carrick, who sealed a comfortable Red Devils win with a fourth after the break.

"When you're 3-0 down in the first half-an-hour it's a long way back against teams like United," added Tomkins.

"We dug in but the fourth goal knocked the wind out of us a little bit, so overall we're a little bit disappointed.

"They have got quality players all through their team and our errors didn't help. But there is not a doubt how good these players are."

Despite his decent performance, Tomkins may lose his place when Hammers take to the field for their final game of the season on Sunday.

Senior defenders Matty Upson and Anton Ferdinand are both closing in on full fitness and could be back for the clash with Aston Villa.