As West Ham United prepare to go to Old Trafford for the
final game of the Premiership campaign, Alan Curbishley is
contemplating the upcoming climax to the Hammers'
season.
"We've been saying for the last five or six weeks that we needed to win the majority of our games," he said. "We've done that - if we had got something up at Sheffield it would have been so precious now.
"But we've won six out of eight, we've still got another game to go, we've still got to take something out of that game but we've given ourselves a chance.
"Going into the last month if we'd known we'd be going into the last game with a chance, albeit at Old Trafford, we'd have taken it.
"We've given ourselves a chance and it's in our hands now. Perhaps this week the expectation levels have turned. I think we're playing well and we've got a settled side.
"We're looking forward to the game. There's no reason why we can't go to Old Trafford and get a result."
With plenty of press coverage currently directed at the Hammers, Curbs admitted to trying to let on-pitch matters take centre-stage.
"There's so much talk about West Ham at the moment," he said. "It seems as if everyone's having a go for whatever reason. We're just trying to get some positive stuff from the football we've been playing.
"We've come up quietly on the rails, most people wrote us off and that's fair enough, but that's the only way to go about it at the moment. If we get the result on Sunday there could be a bit of a noise at Old Trafford.
"But we'll just get on with it. We've given ourselves a chance and, given the position we were in, that's all we could ask for. It's in our hands, it's not been in our hands for so long, and we need one more game."
Curbs wanted to express his admiration for the Hammers fans, who he believes have been instrumental in the team's recent good form.
"I've said this a couple of times: I'm amazed by the support. I'm a West Ham boy and I've played for the club and been there on many occasions. But the intensity I've seen in the last four months, even when we weren't playing well, has been incredible.
"The noise is incredible and I'm sure on Sunday you'll hear our fans and they do make a big difference. They have done all season. There will be a lot of people going up there without tickets because they have to be there. That's the way they are. Let's hope we give them something to get behind and a nice journey home."
And, having managed Charlton Athletic for fifteen years, Curbs expressed his sadness at seeing them relegated earlier this week.
"When I first took over at Charlton they were playing at Upton Park in front of 3, 000 people and when they played Spurs on Monday they were playing in front of a 27, 000 sell-out all-seater Premiership crowd," he said.
"The last ten years at Charlton were fantastic and I was really upset that they went down. As Pards was saying, it affects a lot of people, not just players and management but lots of people on the peripheries. No one wishes that on anyone. But they'll bounce back."
To watch the full interview with Curbs, log on to WHUTV here .
"We've been saying for the last five or six weeks that we needed to win the majority of our games," he said. "We've done that - if we had got something up at Sheffield it would have been so precious now.
"But we've won six out of eight, we've still got another game to go, we've still got to take something out of that game but we've given ourselves a chance.
"Going into the last month if we'd known we'd be going into the last game with a chance, albeit at Old Trafford, we'd have taken it.
"We've given ourselves a chance and it's in our hands now. Perhaps this week the expectation levels have turned. I think we're playing well and we've got a settled side.
"We're looking forward to the game. There's no reason why we can't go to Old Trafford and get a result."
With plenty of press coverage currently directed at the Hammers, Curbs admitted to trying to let on-pitch matters take centre-stage.
"There's so much talk about West Ham at the moment," he said. "It seems as if everyone's having a go for whatever reason. We're just trying to get some positive stuff from the football we've been playing.
"We've come up quietly on the rails, most people wrote us off and that's fair enough, but that's the only way to go about it at the moment. If we get the result on Sunday there could be a bit of a noise at Old Trafford.
"But we'll just get on with it. We've given ourselves a chance and, given the position we were in, that's all we could ask for. It's in our hands, it's not been in our hands for so long, and we need one more game."
Curbs wanted to express his admiration for the Hammers fans, who he believes have been instrumental in the team's recent good form.
"I've said this a couple of times: I'm amazed by the support. I'm a West Ham boy and I've played for the club and been there on many occasions. But the intensity I've seen in the last four months, even when we weren't playing well, has been incredible.
"The noise is incredible and I'm sure on Sunday you'll hear our fans and they do make a big difference. They have done all season. There will be a lot of people going up there without tickets because they have to be there. That's the way they are. Let's hope we give them something to get behind and a nice journey home."
And, having managed Charlton Athletic for fifteen years, Curbs expressed his sadness at seeing them relegated earlier this week.
"When I first took over at Charlton they were playing at Upton Park in front of 3, 000 people and when they played Spurs on Monday they were playing in front of a 27, 000 sell-out all-seater Premiership crowd," he said.
"The last ten years at Charlton were fantastic and I was really upset that they went down. As Pards was saying, it affects a lot of people, not just players and management but lots of people on the peripheries. No one wishes that on anyone. But they'll bounce back."
To watch the full interview with Curbs, log on to WHUTV here .