Curbishley hurt by media agenda

Alan Curbishley has accused sections of the media of pursuing an "agenda" against him and "twisting" his words.

The West Ham manager is under pressure after three successive 4-0 defeats and a poor run of form since the new year that has mirrored his time at Charlton; a good first half of the season marred by a sluggish second. "I accept being West Ham manager is high-profile – certainly when you lose three games 4-0, that's even worse," Curbishley said. "I talk openly and honestly but it can get twisted and I think it has been twisted in recent weeks."

West Ham, albeit still dogged by a lengthy injury list, have won three of their last 12 games and lost 4-0 to Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the space of eight days. "I've called for one or two people to be realistic, especially the press," Curbishley said. "I'm not saying I shouldn't be criticised, let's not get that wrong, but I'm a West Ham fan so I feel for everybody as much as they feel and I'm desperately trying to do as well as I can."

He added: "I do think that perhaps there is a little bit of an agenda out there at the moment and it's directed not just at the team but me personally."