Alan Curbishley has admitted that his love for West Ham
United persuaded him to make a return to football
management.
The 49-year-old, who spent four years at Upton Park as a first team
player between 1975 and 1979 after progressing through the
Club's youth ranks, signed a three-and-a-half year deal on
Wednesday afternoon to become the 11th manager in our history, and
revealed just how much it meant to him to be back at his spiritual
home.
"I'm delighted to be back at West Ham United," said
Alan. "I've got fond memories of my time here as a player,
and now I'm looking forward to the challenge as manager.
"If you'd said to me 27 years ago that I would be coming
back here as a manager, I'd have said it was unbelievable. But
that is the position I am in now, a young boy from Canning Town,
coming back to be manager, and I can't wait for the challenge
ahead.
"I spoke to a few people because it's not the situation I
envisaged going into a club - mid-stream and in a difficult
position. But because it is this club it changed my mind."
The new Hammers boss will face Manchester United in his first game
in charge, at Upton Park on Sunday afternoon, and revealed that his
good friend and counterpart this weekend, Sir Alex Ferguson, had
offered some welcome advice.
"I actually spoke to Sir Alex earlier in the week and I said:
'West Ham, they're third from bottom'. He said that, 20
years ago, Manchester United were as well when he took over.
"He was very complimentary about West Ham and told me that
what I have is an opportunity to go into a club and be
successful."
Alan is certainly under no illusion about the size of the task that
faces him, though, and he insisted that short term ambition will be
the order of the day as he begins his reign at Upton Park.
"We find ourselves in a difficult position, and the quicker we
get out of it, the better," he said. "That's what the
focus is on - if we can push ourselves out of that area and into
the top half of the table, we can enjoy the rest of the season and
begin to build for the future.
"You cannot take the Premiership for granted. Teams like
Watford and Sheffield United will take a defeat then come in on
Monday morning looking forward to the next game because it is all
new, all fresh, and everyone is aggressive about it.
"Last season West Ham had that newly-promoted hunger. They
were galvanised by the fans, which they still are, and we have to
recapture that. We have got to get it back quickly and start
winning some games."
by Danny Francis