Hot Spurs make Curbishley squirm

IRRITATED with the officious behaviour of one Tottenham steward, the West Ham fans chanted: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”

After three 4-0 defeats in nine days, their manager Alan Curbishley must be wondering whether he, too, will soon be out of work. Tottenham followed the example of Chelsea and Liverpool by humiliating West Ham, but the scoreline alone cannot begin to describe just how poor the visitors were.

Two goals down inside 11 minutes to headers from Dimitar Berbatov — both from Tom Huddlestone’s precise free-kicks — Curbishley’s timid team were reduced to 10 men when the stroppy Luis Boa Morte was sent off for a second yellow card just before half-time.

Five minutes from full-time, the Brazilian Gilberto — making his league debut — added a third goal, with his fellow substitute Darren Bent heading the fourth in stoppage time from Alan Hutton’s cross.

Curbishley remains confident he has the backing of the Upton Park board, but admitted: “We are in football, and nothing surprises anyone, but I think the board are realistic as well.

“They know the injury situation. It is a results business, and until this week, we hadn’t been doing badly.

“You can see the difference between the teams that have been able to keep settled line-ups, and those who have not.”

Rightly or wrongly, Curbishley’s frequent reference to the long injury list at Upton Park is clearly beginning to wear thin with some supporters, with many of the travelling fans expressing clear disdain for their side.

Curbishley preferred to complain about the behaviour of Berbatov, whom he believed had gone to ground too easily for the free-kick that let to the first goal.

Curbishley said: “Berbatov is 6ft 3ins, but he chested the ball down and fell over in three stages. Having said that, we were disappointed to see him get a free header for the first goal. Anton Ferdinand should have been marking him.”

The only worrying note for Spurs was an injury to defender Jonathan Woodgate, who came off with foot and calf problems 13 minutes from time.

Boss Juande Ramos insisted Woodgate was withdrawn only as a precaution ahead of Wednesday’s UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg against PSV, but the former Real Madrid player now faces a race to be fit for the match in Holland.

Ramos said: “The first two goals made everything so much easier, because they made the team much calmer and allowed the players to be in control for large parts of the game.

“After losing 1-0 in the first leg against PSV on Thursday, it was very important for the players to get their confidence back quickly.”

TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Robinson 6, Hutton 7, Woodgate 6 (Tainio 77, 6), Dawson 6, Chimbonda 7, Lennon 7, Zokora 7, Huddlestone 7, Malbranque 7 (Gilberto 58, 7), Keane 7 (Bent 69, 6) Berbatov 8. Subs Not Used: Cerny, Boateng.

WEST HAM (4-4-2): Green 6, Neill 5, Ferdinand 6, Spector 5, McCartney 5, Ljungberg 5 (Pantsil 71, 6), Parker 7 (Noble 76, 6), Mullins 5, Boa Morte 4, Ashton 5 (Cole 77, 6), Zamora 6.

Subs Not Used: Wright, Solano.

REFEREE: Chris Foy (Merseyside) 6: The decision to send off Boa Morte for second booking was justified as the Portuguese had already committed several niggly fouls.

MATCH RATING: *** West Ham were so poor that it was impossible to know whether Spurs were back to their best. An easy victory for the north Londoners.