Curbishley: Bolton too quick to axe Lee

West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is convinced Bolton were showing strong signs of revival even before Sammy Lee was removed from the dugout.

Lee became the Premier League’s second casualty in October when the man who had been assistant to previous boss Sam Allardyce was shown the door after just one victory.

The Trotters – now managed by Gary Megson – remain in the drop zone ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Upton Park, which kicks off at 4pm.

But Curbishley is unlikely to under-estimate them as he has already noted that they had been beaten just twice – by Chelsea and Arsenal – in the nine games before Wednesday night’s 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in the Carling Cup.

He said: “There has been a lot of short-termism when it comes to managers’ positions and it is now very difficult to imagine 15 years at a club like I had at Charlton. Sam did 10 at Bolton and Sammy got 10 games.

“The people above see fit to make changes but in the last few games, which includes when Sammy was there, Bolton had gone back to being Bolton again. It was a settled side and the one people were used to seeing.

“And no matter what happens in the Premiership you are never really stranded even if you find yourselves in the bottom three. For those clubs in the bottom three, one or two wins at this time in the season can change everything.

“Bolton got a decent point against Villa and looked settled so perhaps that is the key for them.”

Curbishley would love to be able to describe his own side as settled but knows he will be without almost a whole team through injury tomorrow.

Strikers Dean Ashton, Craig Bellamy and Bobby Zamora remain unavailable and the midfield has been shorn of Scott Parker and Kieron Dyer, although Curbishley has not given up hope that at least one of Mark Noble and Hayden Mullins, who both picked up knocks in the 2-1 victory at Coventry in the Carling Cup, will be passed fit in time.

Deadline day signings Henri Camara and Nolberto Solano are back after being cup-tied in midweek and although the former has yet to make much impact in a claret and blue shirt the latter had already demonstrated his versatility.

The Peruvian, who left Newcastle for a last hurrah in the capital, forced Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon into netting a match-turning own goal on his debut last month and perhaps should have scored himself in the 0-0 draw at Portsmouth last week.

Curbishley said: “I played him in the centre of the park even though most people see him as a wider player but he can adapt. He came on against Sunderland and had an impact and if he had got his headers sorted out he would have had an even bigger impact at Portsmouth. But most importantly he is a very experienced player who can adapt and get on with it.”