For so long, it looked all set to end in a relegation
nightmare. But by the time the curtain fell down on a rollercoaster
season at the Theatre of Dreams, Alan Curbishley had masterminded
the greatest of great escapes.
And that means the relieved Hammers' boss can now positively
set his sights firmly on next term.
"I hadn't spoken to the chairman about the scenario of
what would happen if we stayed up or if we went down," says
Curbs, who now plans to start drawing up his summer battle plan
with Eggert Magnusson, safe in the knowledge that, come August, his
side will still be kicking-off in the Barclays Premier League.
"We all need a break and a bit of a rest but we'll have
a meeting on Wednesday so that we can start looking forward to next
season.
"Hopefully, the events of this year will hold us in good stead
because it's been a real learning curve for everyone.
"And to have got seven wins out of our final nine games is
unbelievable, especially when you consider the opposition that
we've faced recently.
"We've also had a barrage of negative press, which
wasn't helped by some of our earlier performances and a few
other things that crept into the newspapers, while the
Tevez-Mascherano affair has become the bandwagon for everyone to
jump upon, too.
"When I came here in December, things had already gone on but
then they held the inquiry and gave their verdict. We've become
public enemy number one but the Premier League have said that
it's over and that's it. I don't think that their
decision will be overturned and it's all out of my hands, just
like it's always been.
"The win at Manchester United wasn't just a one-off,
though," insists the Hammers boss, having seen Carlos Tevez
secure safety with a priceless first-half winner at Old
Trafford.
"We've had some magnificent performances lately from
players such as Tevez, Robert Green, James Collins, Lucas Neill,
Mark Noble, Anton Ferdinand and Bobby Zamora. They've all
played their part and it's been a great effort.
"I've certainly learned a lot and I hope that the players
have, too, because it'll hold us all in good stead for next
season.
"All week, people were saying that Manchester United would
beat us and everything would be decided by events at Sheffield
United, where it would've been all over if we'd lost and
Wigan had won.
"But we also knew that if everyone approached their matches
correctly then it could've all come back and bitten us. After
all, Sheffield United were looking at their situation thinking that
they only had to win their game and that just goes to show how
difficult it actually is down at the bottom.
"We knew all the permutations and realised that we had to get
at least a point," continues Curbs after steering Hammers to
an incredible double over the Premiership champions, while Neil
Warnock's Blades saw their Premiership lifeline cruelly cut by
Wigan's win.
"We were hearing conflicting stories from Bramall Lane but
when I heard that Wigan were down to 10 men and winning 2-1 it was
still all in the balance because Manchester United could have
scored and turned it all on its head again.
"To come away from Old Trafford with the win was the bonus
ball but whenever United tried to create anything we got there, we
blocked it and put our bodies on the line. It was a great effort
and we've pulled off an amazing escape!"
Certainly, when he trudged away from his old stamping ground at The
Valley in late February, Curbs could hardly have contemplated such
a spectacular late reprieve after a 0-4 defeat left Hammers nine
points adrift of safety.
"I came home from Charlton feeling very despondent," he
reveals. "It had been difficult coming into the club in
mid-season and I'd already had lots of injuries and other
things to contend with.
"We didn't put up much of a show against my old club,
while some of the players that I'd signed had picked up
injuries, too. It wasn't happening and you just couldn't
see where another result was coming from.
"Some of the West Ham fans were even telling me to go back to
Charlton because no-one could work out what was happening to this
club! Remember, this time last year West Ham were contesting an FA
Cup final and they'd had a great season.
"But the problems started with all the injuries and the
operations after the players came home from the Millennium Stadium.
"All along, though, people at the club were telling me that if
we could only pick up a couple of results, then I'd see the
difference in the players and that's exactly what happened.
"Although we ended losing it in the end, our next match
against Tottenham Hotspur really galvanised us," recalls
Curbs, after a 3-4 defeat against Martin Jol's men left Hammers
rock-bottom in the Premiership table, 10 points adrift of safety
with just those nine games to play.
"But apart from Lucas Neill and, more recently Luis Boa
Morte, it really has been the players who were already in the side
before I got here, who have got us out of trouble. That just goes
to show that, somehow, the ability that was here all along had
escaped us in the early part of the season.
"I've got to give great credit to the team for going on to
produce those seven wins out of our final nine matches.
"Although I can't put my finger on it, it just goes to
show what can be achieved. All I've done is kept things low key
and the training simple and the results have picked up alongside
the confidence.
"All along, I said that I hoped to bring in some senior
players alongside the young talent that we again saw against
Manchester United and it's been up to me to get the best out of
them.
"We've also had a settled side in recent weeks and we can
now look forward to welcoming back some big-hitters such as Dean
Ashton, Danny Gabbidon and Matthew Upson, too.
"But just like any other club, players will also come and go
during the summer," predicts Curbs. "We'll just have
to wait and see what happens but, in the meantime, I'm big on
pre-season preparation and I'm really looking forward to next
year."
by Steve Blowers