Regardless of the outcome of next month?s English FA Cup final, West Ham will still come out as champions ? according to the club?s former striker Clyde Best.

Following the Hammers? 1-0 semi-final win over Middlesborough on Sunday, Best, who represented West Ham from 1969 to 1976, said he was absolutely delighted to see his former club advance to their first FA Cup final in 26 years.

West Ham will meet Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff next month after the Merseyside team toppled Chelsea 2-1 on Saturday.

?I?ve already been over the moon and ready to go again,? Best told . ?And everybody who is a Hammer supporter is happy . . . I didn?t know there were so many in Bermuda.

?We have quite a contingent here and my phone has been ringing off the hook ever since Sunday?s win. This achievement will be tremendous for the club and so I take my hat off to them.?

Outplayed in the first half, Hammers regrouped in the second and scored a late winner through Marlon Harewood to secure their place in the final.

And win or lose, West Ham will still qualify for next season?s UEFA Cup, an accomplishment Best cherishes most.

?I?m very glad to see the team get there (Europe) after being in the doldrums for so long and not competing in Europe,? said Best, who scored 47 goals in 178 appearances. ?But now we are finally able to do that. We are a club that were used to playing in Europe over the years and so it?s nice to be back and I know all of the fans are ecstatic.

?And regardless of what happens in the final, having qualified for Europe is like winning the cup itself. Nobody expected us to be where we are right now and so the club is ahead of schedule. The manager has gone out and got some great signings and those young players that are there have matured and it?s just been tremendous.?

Earlier this year Best received an MBE for his pioneering achievements in the English game.

The former Somerset Trojans striker, who also represented Somerset in Cup Match, is a Bermuda Hall of Fame inductee and recipient of FIFA?s Order of Merit Award ? one of only a handful of players in the world to have had the honour bestowed upon them.

West Ham last appeared in the FA Cup final in 1980, defeating Arsenal 1-0 via a second-half Trevor Brooking header.

Best said he had already spoken to former team-mate Brooking to begin making possible plans for the trip to the UK for next month?s final.

?I?m a serious football fan and so hopefully I can slip over to watch the match,? he said.