Former Player Interview - Alan Curbishley

Alan Curbishley enjoyed a memorable spell at West Ham United as both a player and a manager.


Curbishley made his debut for the Hammers back in March 1975 against Chelsea and went on to make 97 appearances during his four year spell at the Boleyn Ground.


The talented midfielder eventually made the switch into management and after a successful 15 year spell in charge of Charlton, he returned to his boyhood club when he was appointed manager of the Hammers back in December 2006.


Curbishley pulled off the great escape when he helped the Club win seven of their final nine games to stay in the Premier League.


The biggest drama came at Old Trafford on the final day of the season when West Ham needed a result to stay up and Carlos Tevez continued his amazing form when he scored the winning goal against Manchester United to make it seven goals in his final ten games.


Curbishley said: “Funnily enough I could not get any kind of result against Manchester United when I was at Charlton but when I came to West Ham I quickly got rid of that winning my first three games against them.


“The final day win at Old Trafford was great and we knew we had to get something. The support was fantastic and we took thousands of fans to Wigan and Manchester United.


“Whenever I see footage of the game you see Mark Noble jumping over his team-mates at the end of the game and that summed it all up that day.


“I don't think Manchester United will be looking forward to this game with the atmosphere that will be created and I am looking forward to it.”