Curbishley: Hammers job a gamble, but lure was too strong

WEST HAM boss Alan Curbishley has told his new players he has no intention of going from an England candidate to a Coca-Cola Championship manager in just over a year.

Curbishley was unveiled as Alan Pardew’s successor on Wednesday after a self-imposed break from the game, and he admitted accepting the job was a gamble given their position in the bottom three of the Premiership.

He was not seen as a gambler at Charlton before his departure at the end of last season, but a steady reputation built over 15 years had him among those tipped to take over from Sven Goran Eriksson after England’s World Cup in Germany.

The lure of West Ham, where he started his career, convinced Curbishley to go back into management and his first game in charge is against Manchester United tomorrow.

He said: “Most people will find me unassuming and cautious, but I think I’ve turned myself into a bit of a gambler – I’m gambling that we’re going to get out of this. If we do, I think the club will really push on.

“There’s no way I want to be a Championship manager come the end of the season.”

Curbishley was a pundit for West Ham’s last game, a 4-0 loss at Bolton, and admitted the past few days had been a “whirlwind”.

“We had a 15-minute chat just to explain the whirlwind couple of days,” Curbishley revealed. “They were quiet, I didn’t ask for any input.”

Curbishley’s whirlwind week included a meeting with Eggert Magnusson, the new West Ham chairman.

“I felt as if I went on a blind date when I first met the chairman,” he said. “I’d never seen him before or the other people around him and I didn’t know what to expect. I mulled it over because of the league position, but that quickly turned around because I wanted to come here.”

Among the issues Curbishley faces is where Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano fit into his squad, the Argentina pair being brought to the club early in the season and then blamed for having an unsettling effect.

Skipper Nigel Reo-Coker has also been linked with a move away from Upton Park, but Curbishley said: “I’ve not really had a chat to Reo-Coker about anything. I’ve tried to speak to as many people as I can but I haven’t spoken to him.”