Back-to-back festive defeats may have left him stuck in the
relegation zone, three points adrift of safety, but Alan Curbishley
still goes into 2007 confident that Hammers can beat the dreaded
drop.
"I thought long and hard about what I was inheriting before I came here and I still believe that all is not lost," insisted Curbs after seeing DaMarcus Beasley give Manchester City a late victory at Upton Park. "We've got to get ourselves out of this situation and it's 'Game On' from now.
"With their wins over Sheffield United and ourselves, City have accepted two glorious opportunities to claw themselves into mid-table and that just goes to show that you can turn things around.
"To be honest, I was expecting something from our two games against Portsmouth and City so that we could get ourselves up the league, too, but it just wasn't to be.
"The players worked tremendously hard and although neither side deserved to win, we've still lost a point. That means that we haven't managed to take anything from our last two games and after seeing Portsmouth score from two set pieces, it was just as disappointing to see Robert Green hardly have a save to make against Manchester City.
"We just didn't get the breaks but when you're down the bottom that's what happens. I only had 16 players available because it backfired on us when we lost our appeal against Paul Konchesky's red card at Fulham, while George McCartney - his replacement - was ill this morning, Nigel Reo-Coker was suspended and Danny Gabbidon got an early knock, too. Matthew Etherington didn't feel well, Javier Mascherano has an ankle injury and Bobby Zamora has got a sore toe.
"The fans were calling for Carlos Tevez, who hasn't scored a goal for the club yet but neither Marlon Harewood nor Zamora have found the net for a while and I can understand the supporters calling for people because they're frustrated and they want to see goals.
"We've only scored seven times in our last 18 Premiership games, while we've also conceded 27 goals this season. That means that we've got to start scoring again so that we can give the back four something to hold onto because, apart from the Manchester United game, we haven't taken the lead in a game for a long time.
"You hope to address things like that in the transfer window and everyone in our position will be looking to do something but will the clubs let their players go? And when you're third from bottom will players want to come here?
"Anyway, wherever I go, everyone keeps telling me that we've got good players here, already. In fact, Harry Redknapp said that if I put them on the transfer list he'd buy half of them!" revealed Curbs, still mystified by his team's ability to beat table-topping Manchester United, yet fail to gain a single point from those equally vital home games against Portsmouth and City.
"The confidence was flowing in the West Ham United team that played so well last season but it's this year that I'm worried about now.
"A newly promoted side - just like Reading this time around - can come into the Premiership and bounce along with confidence but this is a different year for us with different rules and different questions being asked.
"People say: 'Blimey they were better than this last year' but you have to remember that a lot of this young side have only had a season and a half in the Premiership," concluded Curbs, clearly hoping that Hammers can start to regain some much-needed self-belief by kicking-off 2007 with a positive New Year's Day result at Reading.
"After the results against Manchester United and Fulham these defeats against Portsmouth and City mean that we're now back in it again.
"Sure, the Premiership table and the statistics don't lie and we need to start getting some results but, yes, there's still a lot of light at the end of the tunnel."
"I thought long and hard about what I was inheriting before I came here and I still believe that all is not lost," insisted Curbs after seeing DaMarcus Beasley give Manchester City a late victory at Upton Park. "We've got to get ourselves out of this situation and it's 'Game On' from now.
"With their wins over Sheffield United and ourselves, City have accepted two glorious opportunities to claw themselves into mid-table and that just goes to show that you can turn things around.
"To be honest, I was expecting something from our two games against Portsmouth and City so that we could get ourselves up the league, too, but it just wasn't to be.
"The players worked tremendously hard and although neither side deserved to win, we've still lost a point. That means that we haven't managed to take anything from our last two games and after seeing Portsmouth score from two set pieces, it was just as disappointing to see Robert Green hardly have a save to make against Manchester City.
"We just didn't get the breaks but when you're down the bottom that's what happens. I only had 16 players available because it backfired on us when we lost our appeal against Paul Konchesky's red card at Fulham, while George McCartney - his replacement - was ill this morning, Nigel Reo-Coker was suspended and Danny Gabbidon got an early knock, too. Matthew Etherington didn't feel well, Javier Mascherano has an ankle injury and Bobby Zamora has got a sore toe.
"The fans were calling for Carlos Tevez, who hasn't scored a goal for the club yet but neither Marlon Harewood nor Zamora have found the net for a while and I can understand the supporters calling for people because they're frustrated and they want to see goals.
"We've only scored seven times in our last 18 Premiership games, while we've also conceded 27 goals this season. That means that we've got to start scoring again so that we can give the back four something to hold onto because, apart from the Manchester United game, we haven't taken the lead in a game for a long time.
"You hope to address things like that in the transfer window and everyone in our position will be looking to do something but will the clubs let their players go? And when you're third from bottom will players want to come here?
"Anyway, wherever I go, everyone keeps telling me that we've got good players here, already. In fact, Harry Redknapp said that if I put them on the transfer list he'd buy half of them!" revealed Curbs, still mystified by his team's ability to beat table-topping Manchester United, yet fail to gain a single point from those equally vital home games against Portsmouth and City.
"The confidence was flowing in the West Ham United team that played so well last season but it's this year that I'm worried about now.
"A newly promoted side - just like Reading this time around - can come into the Premiership and bounce along with confidence but this is a different year for us with different rules and different questions being asked.
"People say: 'Blimey they were better than this last year' but you have to remember that a lot of this young side have only had a season and a half in the Premiership," concluded Curbs, clearly hoping that Hammers can start to regain some much-needed self-belief by kicking-off 2007 with a positive New Year's Day result at Reading.
"After the results against Manchester United and Fulham these defeats against Portsmouth and City mean that we're now back in it again.
"Sure, the Premiership table and the statistics don't lie and we need to start getting some results but, yes, there's still a lot of light at the end of the tunnel."