West Ham United can have a major say in the destiny of the Premier League title this weekend but Alan Curbishley has stressed he will only be concerned with the fortunes of his own team.
When asked about whether Manchester United, this weekend's opponents, or Chelsea would be crowned champions, the manager said: "This is the most competitive Premier League I have ever been involved in. Certainly Man United thought they were in a position to wrap it up a couple of weeks ago ... but the resilience of Chelsea has been fantastic and they have just kept going and going. They are not going to go away and not in the middle of May either [with the Champions League final]."
He added: "We are all quite aware whoever gets there deserves it on merit. If it ends up going to the last weekend, I don't think the Premier League could have asked for much more." Level on points but with a superior goal difference, Manchester United are in the driving seat but Curbishley has enjoyed three straight wins against Sir Alex Ferguson and is determined to secure tenth place. The manager will be going all out to inflict more misery on a managerial rival who only has "three or four bad Sunday mornings in a season".
He added that although this year's contest does not hold the same pressure as last season's, while it is now the home side who have the weight of expectancy on their shoulders, there should be no doubting the desire to secure another memorable result. "We have got to go there and put on a performance and show what we can do. I think it is uncanny how it has worked out very similar to last year but the tables have turned somewhat."
Having pitted their wits over the years, Curbishley and Ferguson have become old acquaintances with the West Ham United manager admitting he spoke to the Scot before taking over at the Boleyn Ground although they "rarely talk about individual situations" and have not discussed this weekend's major meeting. Curbishley said: "The only time I have asked him for advice was about this job. He said 'take it' - that is the only time I have spoken to him about anything like that. His reasons were that this is a big club, great support and if the club gets going it could be taken on."