Make no mistake, it's make or break for the Hammers
as the relegation battle now enters the final 10 games of the
season.
And before he unbolted the locked door of the visitors'
dressing room at The Valley, Alan Curbishley was under no illusions
when he issued a stern challenge to his bruised and battered
troops.
"Are we going to go down with a whimper or are we going to
come out, put up a fight and stay up?" asked the Hammers'
boss whose return to the club he managed for 15 years ended in a
forlorn four-goal defeat. "I'm as devastated as the fans
after that performance and now we've got to pick up the pieces
after another poor, poor weekend.
"It would've been nice to come back here without having so
much at stake but we all knew the importance of this game and the
first goal was always going to be vital. We were disappointed to
give it away - there was a hint offside - but it was a clinical
finish as were their two other first-half strikes.
"After that, there was no coming back for us and the only two
positives to come out of the game were the chances we created in
the second half - albeit the match was already all over by then -
and the fans who've been constant in their support for us even
though we've been so inconsistent. They're still there,
right behind the team.
"Following the Watford defeat, it's been a disastrous
couple of weeks for us," continued Curbs, who has now endured
back-to-back losses in two 'Must Win' games against
Hammers' relegation rivals. "We are where we are in
Premiership table and it's a culmination of factors as to why
the club's down at the bottom and injuries are still coming
along thick and fast.
"I picked a team to face Charlton on Thursday but that had
changed dramatically by Friday and I was without seven defenders
today. That's been par for the course since I've been here.
"Alan Pardew had some battle hardened players who've been
here previously and, perhaps, mine haven't experienced this
before. But this defeat's not just a one-off and, while some of
the teams around us have managed to pick up some points and give
themselves lift-off, it's just been one thing after another for
us.
"To go back into training on a Sunday or Monday morning with
some points gives everyone that lift but we just haven't
managed to do that for some time now.
"The last 11 weeks have really hurt me but I wouldn't
change a thing. The West Ham job came up and - except for the
league position which I was confident would improve - it ticked all
the boxes for me.
"But we've gone well past the disappointed stage
now," confessed Curbs, whose unlucky 13-match Premiership
reign has yielded just that solitary victory over Manchester
United, which came just four days after his arrival in mid-
December. "I didn't expect this to be the outcome and
I've looked back and questioned what I've done during that
time.
"I came into a difficult situation and that's even more
difficult now. It's been like a whirlwind and it's also
been very difficult but I'm learning more and more as time goes
on.
"It's so easy for the press to sit there and criticise us
but I realise that this is a results business and we need lift-off,
too.
"I also know I'm not immune to anything - that was also
the case when I was manager of Charlton - but I sat down with the
chairman on three or four occasions last week, alone, and we
haven't had any conversations about next year.
"If anyone had said last summer that the managers of both
these clubs would've swapped over by the time that they came to
play this game no-one would've believed it, but anything can
happen. That's football!
"Right now, everyone's being very supportive and we're
all trying to get ourselves out of the mess that we're
currently in.
"It would be nice to get some of the players fit, pick up some
results and keep a settled side because we've got to get some
confidence and continuity going.
"I expected a result against Charlton and I expect a result
when we play Spurs next Sunday. There are 10, tough games left but
there are still loads of points to play for," concluded Curbs
reminding everyone of his rallying call.
"As I've said, are we going to go down with a whimper or are we going to come out, put up a fight and stay up? As far as I'm concerned we've got to make sure that we battle all the way to the end."
by Steve Blowers