The mighty West Ham United FC

I admitted to a few friends after the 6-0 defeat to Reading on New Year's Day that I had resigned myself to West Ham being relegated from the English Premiership, again. We had scored only 20 points in more than a half season of football, had lost a club record nine games in a row and had a huge injury list. There appeared no way back from the punishment of spending the 2007/08 season in the Championship.

I was particularly gutted and baffled by this run of form as it was only one season before that we made it to the FA Cup Final and finished in a creditable position on the Premiership table after two years out of the top flight. And no one, not the BBC pundits, or almost any followers of the game would have predicted the turn around in form we enjoyed after sacking Alan Pardew and appointing Alan Curbishley as the new manager.

Curbs' first game in charge we played Manchester United at Upton Park and beat them 1-0. Amazingly, even with Man U being crowned the Champions a week ago, we beat them again 1-0 at Old Traffod yesterday to ensure our survival, winning eight of our past nine games. I don't know what it is about Manchester United. I think if you were a Man U supporter you'd describe the Hammers as your bogey team. We also took all six points off Arsenal this season as well. And those games as it turned out were the keys to our survival. God knows we couldn't beat our fellow strugglers Charlton, Wigan, Watford or Sheffield United.

But whatever, it's all for the history books now. West Ham United, the pride of the East End live to fight another season in the English Premiership.