Alan Curbishley admitted beforehand that West Ham had to win if they were to survive in the Premiership, and relegation will certainly be their fate playing like this. The classic “six-pointer” was over as a contest before half-time, with Charlton three goals up, home and hosed, after 41 minutes.

Curbishley left the Valley, where he was manager for 15 years, “devastated” by a result and performance he described as “disastrous”. He emerged from a lengthy dressing-room inquest to reveal that he had asked his players: “Are you going to go down with a whimper or go down fighting?” Realising the implications of the question, he added, very much as an afterthought: “Or are we going to get out of it?” Last night he was given the dreaded “vote of confidence” by a spokesman for West Ham’s Icelandic owner, Eggert Magnusson.

It was billed as a tooth and nail scrap, but only one team were up for it. Charlton played all the football, and must have a good chance of staying up on this impressive evidence. West Ham, in contrast, look like a hopeless case. Spirit, as well as form, has deserted them, and it was a miserable afternoon for Curbishley, who must be wishing he never left Charlton. He denied that, of course, saying: “A lot of people have asked me: ‘If you could go back 10 weeks, what would you do?’ My answer is I wouldn’t change my decision to take the job. West Ham ticked all the boxes for me.”

Not yesterday they didn’t. Over the 90 minutes his expression varied from hangdog to haunted, and to complete a ghastly afternoon he had to listen to the West Ham supporters chanting his predecessor’s name. He said: “That wasn’t nice, but this isn’t a nice business to be in when results are going against you. I can assure the fans I’m as devastated as they are.

Darren Ambrose, Jerome Thomas and Darren Bent rattled in the goals that had the issue settled before the interval, Thomas adding his second after 80 minutes. It was an afternoon to savour for the manager the home crowd saluted in song as “Super Alan Pardew.”

For both teams, it was the biggest match of the season. It was mutually accepted that it was one they had to win if they were to drag themselves out of the relegation mire, presumably by catching Wigan. Strange, then, that only one side should compete. Charlton were relieved to have two England men, Luke Young and Darren Bent, back after seven and 11 games respectively. They were expected to provide a lift, and clearly did so. The first question was answered early. What sort of reception would Curbishley get at the club he served so well for so long? Subdued was the answer. Unfortunately for the beleaguered manager, so were his players. Charlton were quickly into their stride and their superiority had its reward after 24 minutes, when Marcus Bent got to the byline on the left and cut the ball back for the onrushing Ambrose to volley in, sidefooted, from a central position, eight yards out.

Charlton were lifted, West Ham deflated and the second goal came after 34 minutes, when Ben Thatcher picked out Thomas, who drove forward and cut in from the left before shooting smartly across Green and into the far corner.

Two goals down, West Ham had to push forward if they were to repair a desperate situation, and Nigel Quashie tested Scott Carson with a resounding 25-yarder. Their cause became hopeless four minutes before half-time when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, on as a substitute, caught the defence square with a through pass from halfway that allowed Darren Bent to break away on his own before beating Green with aplomb with an angled drive from 16 yards.

“We want our money back,” chorused the disgruntled East Enders behind Green’s goal. Curbishley looked on stone-faced, bewilderment personified. He responded to the crisis by sending on an extra striker, Marlon Harewood, in place of Matthew Etherington, who had been anonymous on the left flank, then replacing Carlton Cole with the new recruit from Spain, Kepa Blanco.

Charlton were within inches of scoring a fourth early in the second half, when Hasselbaink shivered an upright from 25 yards, at which juncture something new happened. A match broke out. Tevez, with a strong shot, had Carson stretching to to tip the ball over, and the England reserve was called on to make another save, this time from substitute Harewood. West Ham had come to the party at last — an hour late.

They didn’t stay long. It was 4-0 after 80 minutes, when Thomas volleyed home Ambrose’s left-wing cross from eight yards. It was very nearly five, Zheng Zhi thumping a header against the crossbar in the final minute. West Ham couldn’t have complained it it had been.

Curbishley likened the result to being hit by a whirlwind. He could end up getting blown out.

Star man: Jerome Thomas (Charlton)

Player Ratings: Charlton: Carson 6, Young 6, El Karkouri 7, Diawara 7, Thatcher 6, Ambrose 7, Holland 6, Song Billong 6 (Faye 85min), Thomas 8, M Bent 7 (Hasselbaink 35min, 5), D Bent 7 (Zheng 82min)

West Ham: Green 5, Dailly 5, Ferdinand 5, Davenport 5, Konchesky 6, Benayoun 5, Mullins 6 (Newton 72min), Quashie 6, Etherington 5 (Harewood ht, 5), Tevez 6, Cole 5 (Blanco 59min, 5)

Scorers: Charlton: Ambrose 24, Thomas 34, 80, D Bent 41

Referee: R Styles

Attendance: 27,111