English Premier League Preview: August 30, 31

Paul Ince must be used to getting an unpleasant reception from West Ham fans, as he's been enduring it ever since leaving Upton Park to join Manchester United nearly 20 years ago. But even so, he'll be slightly relieved to know that he's only likely to be the second least popular manager on the touchline on Saturday when he takes Blackburn Rovers there. After all, Ince may still be a 'Judas' and all that, but at least he's not Alan Curbishley.

The new season has hardly started, and already some of the Hammers fans have turned on their manager, chanting 'You'll be sacked in the morning' to him during their tortuous Carling Cup victory over Macclesfield on Wednesday night. Coming off the back of an embarassing 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last weekend and the midweek controversies over player sales at the club, it is clear that Curbishley is a man desperately in need of some good results.

A defeat at home to a team managed by one of Upton Park's most hated former sons is certainly not what they need, but unless he can pick his players up, it's a distinct possibility. Curbishley was already under some pressure before the start of the new season, having endured a miserable second half to 2007/08, including three consecutive 4-0 defeats and just four Premier League victories from the turn of the year onwards - one of them at home to Blackburn.

When Curbishley was at Charlton, his teams often seemed to struggle after Christmas, seemingly lacking the motivation to perform after securing their likely safety from relegation, and that seemed to be the case with the Hammers last season.