Curbishley goes back to basics to forge unlikely debut triumph

For the Irons; the irony. The bitter, bitter but, for West Ham fans, oh so sweet, irony. Nigel Reo-Coker, the captain and talisman last season, turned malcontent and man blamed for leading the dressing room disenchantment that helped bring down Alan Pardew, scored the winning goal against Manchester United.

It was his first strike ­ apart from his apparent downing of tools ­ of this so far wretched season. And it came against one of the two clubs ­ Arsenal being the other ­ who had made that deadline day inquiry last August that had so helped unsettle the ambitious 22-year-old.

That was after West Ham signed Javier Mascherano and yesterday the Argentine midfielder did not even make the squad when Alan Curbishley made his first selection as manager. Indeed, Mascherano may never play for West Ham again should he heed the advice of some that a petition to Fifa can be made to allow him to leave in the January transfer window.

West Ham have toyed with allowing Reo-Coker to depart then also. An offer of £10m would be accepted although, given their predicament, it's more likely that no one will come up with that fee and, also, that the club will wait until the summer before letting him go.

Now is not a time to sell and, despite Reo-Coker's poor performances he is still a potentially forceful player. West Ham need him to rediscover that brio.

His tap-in will help. Except it was so much more than a tap-in ­ as the reaction of the fans vouched. Reo-Coker had been booed as his name was read out before kick-off and, on the final whistle, he formed a tight huddle with Paul Konchesky and Anton Ferdinand. Even then the stadium announcer's attempts to whip up support saw the cheers mixed with cat-calls. The wounds he has helped create are deep.

"It's been such a stressful week," Reo-Coker said afterwards. "Not just personally but for the team, the squad. It's been a whirlwind the past couple of days. So much has gone on, such a quick change. I've had to put up with a lot. A lot of people have blamed me for some reason. Those close to me know how stressed I have been."

That may well be the case but Curbishley's reaction was tellingly circumspect. Beforehand he had urged Reo-Coker to "do his talking on the pitch" and he clearly still feels there is some way to go on that count. But the start was hugely encouraging. "We got the hunger back," Reo-Coker said. He was speaking of the team but, most obviously, about himself.

How had that happened? "Alan Curbishley got us back to basics," he said. "We did what we did last year." And he did what he did. Were there any thoughts for Pardew? "That one's for you, gaffer," Reo-Coker said and a penny for the (former) gaffer's thoughts on that one. But then Pardew had also spoken his mind. His hurt was focused on the club's new chairman Eggert Magnusson.

"He laid it on the line for me," Pardew said of Magnusson's explanation for his sacking. "It was a gut feeling after the two performances and I think I maybe deserved a bit more than that."

Pardew said he had been offered the option of going "by mutual consent" but added: "I didn't think it was right."

There was also a cautionary tale for Curbishley. "West Ham fans don't want survival, they want to win trophies," Pardew said. That is clear but, for now, survival will do.

Victory, courtesy of Reo-Coker, the man he plucked from MK Dons and helped to propel towards the England squad, suddenly brought that prospect a little closer.