SOCCER:Before taking the West Ham job last week, Alan Curbishley sought the advice of Alex Ferguson. As the two managers shook hands yesterday evening at the end of a gripping match, the Scot presumably wished he had told his friend not to accept the challenge of succeeding Alan Pardew. "It's been a perfect day," Curbishley reflected afterwards.

West Ham may remain in the bottom three but the mood has lifted dramatically and Curbishley enjoyed a first win over Manchester United, a taste he never experienced in 15 years in charge of Charlton. New managers frequently have a galvanising effect but few envisaged Curbishley making such a start against the league leaders, given that West Ham had lost five of their previous six matches and were coming off a 4-0 hammering at Bolton.

The sense that West Ham had left behind the old and begun anew was heightened by the identity of their match-winner. Nigel Reo-Coker has been blamed for Pardew's dismissal, the allegation being that his form has dipped beyond recognition after the club waved away interest from leading clubs in August.

Ill-feeling between the captain and fans looked to be there before kick-off when Reo-Coker greeted the supporters with the most perfunctory of claps and there were isolated boos for him when the team was read out, but the midfielder ended a hero.

When the public-address announcer asked the crowd to show their appreciation as he went down the tunnel, the cheer was loud.

"It's been such a stressful week, not just personally but as a squad and a team," Reo-Coker said. "It's been a whirlwind. So much has gone on, such a quick change, but we had to make sure we were focused today. Especially me, for a personal thing, because I had to prove a lot." He knows he has been held responsible for Pardew's fate. "A lot of people came to that conclusion for some reason," he said. "People who know me well know how stressed I have been." He dedicated the victory to Pardew.

The points will have helped to lift the stress around the club, but Curbishley made an important point amid the celebrations. "If he wants to answer his critics he has done it today," he said of Reo-Coker, "but I would like him to do it next week as well at Fulham."

With West Ham's next five league games being against Fulham, Portsmouth, Manchester City, Reading and Fulham again, they have a great chance to haul themselves towards safety. They will need to show the spirit that gained this win. If victory flattered them, the desire never wavered.

"There were some fantastic tackles, some fantastic blocks," Curbishley said. Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Spector were among those who stood up impressively along with the goalkeeper Robert Green.

The manager insisted he did not "envisage anyone leaving" next month amid interest in Reo-Coker but was more concerned by the impact of this success.

By leaving Carlos Tevez on the bench and Javier Mascherano out of the squad, Curbishley hinted at what he sees as the way forward in a relegation scrap. He said he picked the "eleven I knew a bit about".

Ferguson bemoaned the timing of his team's visit. "We played really well, we didn't deserve to lose but I think we came here at a time of tremendous upsurge in energy, enthusiasm and optimism," he said.

"It's been a very important day for Chelsea and it's not been a great day for us - but the championship race is not going to be decided in December."

Guardian Service