Brown ready to face former club

Steve Brown is looking forward to facing his old club this evening as the reserves take on Charlton Athletic, but he insists that is no added incentive to aim for the win.

"I was there for a long time, under Curbs, and I have a great affection for the club," he said. "But it won't have any extra significance if we win tonight, other than being great for the players - and for me - because the reserve side hasn't had a win all season."

But, Steve added: "I've always said the results aren't pivotal for the reserve side but they are important for individuals and for the team. It's not the be all and end all in the reserves but it is important for any team to have a winning habit.

"Nobody likes to lose and that's no different in the reserves, the youth team or a pub team on a Sunday. In the reserves you can't be despondent if you don't win because it's not the future of West Ham United lying in the reserves.

"I'd rather the first team stayed up and the reserves came bottom of the league than the reserves won the league and the first team went down. The first team is the priority but nobody likes to lose."

With the international break on this week, Steve is expecting to field a young side at Upton Park tonight.

"Curbs has said that no seniors have to play but two have come forward to play. Jimmy Walker will be in goal and Paul Konchesky will be at left-back. The option was there's a game there if you feel like you need it and Paul and Jimmy both wanted to play.

"The other nine will be youngsters who played on Saturday. That's how it lies in the reserves, one week you get a strong side and the next you get a young side and that's what we've got tonight."

Hammers squad: Walker, Blackmore, Miller, Blackwell, Konchesky, Harvey, Widdowson, Ngala, Tomkins, Stanislas, Hales, Jeffery, Sears, Hunt, Lee.