What a difference three years makes. In May 2005, after their final home game of a profoundly forgettable campaign, the traditional end-of-season lap of honour was an excruciating affair for Manchester United’s players. They had been forced to applaud Chelsea, the newly crowned champions, on to the pitch and, after a 3-1 defeat, they had trudged around Old Trafford to a backdrop of discontent and empty seats, not to mention anger and anguish at the imminent takeover by the Glazer family. A weary Sir Alex Ferguson went to pick up the microphone and, like a sober man in a karaoke bar, decided against it. There was nothing to say.

Fast-forward three years and the scene could hardly have been more different. As his smiling players congregated in the centre circle after strolling past the meek challenge of West Ham United, Ferguson, looking remarkably fit and healthy for a 66-year-old, bounded over, took the microphone and urged a packed stadium to congratulate the “absolutely fantastic” efforts of the players, of his staff and of the fans themselves.

He did not quite ask them to stand up for the champions, but, as he told them to “enjoy yourselves in Moscow and hopefully next week at Wigan”, the inference was clear: that these are heady times once more for United.

Not so for West Ham, who proved to be the compliant opponents that Avram Grant, the Chelsea first-team coach, had feared upon reading Alan Curbishley’s ill-advised statement in a newspaper that he would “raise a glass if United win the title”.

It was a performance that is likely to embellish Grant’s conspiracy theories, but West Ham’s supporters would reject the suggestion that it was any more insipid than normal, a performance in keeping with the level they showed in the three successive 4-0 defeats they suffered in eight days in March. Yes, they have suffered from injuries, yes, they managed to beat Liverpool and even United at Upton Park, but, if Grant has done his home-work, he will know that there was nothing untoward about West Ham’s performance on Saturday.

Curbishley swerved the postmatch press conference – a case of “when in Rome”, it seemed – and again risked the wrath of Grant by raising a glass with Ferguson in the United manager’s office. Mervyn Day, Curbishley’s assistant, spoke honestly, admitting that he did not know whether he and Curbishley would remain in charge of West Ham next season. He said that “everyone else in football acknowledges what a decent job we have done so far”, but, although the team have stabilised in mid-table, there is little to show for an extensive outlay on players over the past 18 months. Some of them have suffered from injury, but, in the cases of Kieron Dyer and Craig Bellamy, who, other than Curbishley, has been surprised by that?

Where West Ham have suffered is in central defence, with Curbishley forced to field Lucas Neill, a full back, alongside James Tomkins, making only his fifth senior appearance on Saturday. With 26 minutes gone, United were 3-0 up, Cristiano Ronaldo gliding around Neill to shoot low past Robert Green and then reacting well to some awful defending to score with his thigh from a cross by Owen Hargreaves, his 39th and 40th goals of a brilliant season. Carlos Tévez, the former West Ham forward, made it 3-0 with a stupendous strike from 25 yards, even if Green will feel that he should have done better.

United were coasting, but, in the space of three minutes, West Ham were given hope. Dean Ashton, otherwise alarmingly sluggish, scored with a spectacular overhead kick and then Nani, the United winger, was sent off for reacting to mild provocation from Neill with an absurd head-butt, for which he can expect a club fine and a severe reprimand from Ferguson, in addition to a three-match domestic ban.

Even at 3-1, that indiscretion could have proved costly for Nani’s team, but West Ham never looked likely to reduce the arrears. Instead, United kept possession sensibly until Michael Carrick, another West Ham old boy, strode forward unchallenged to score the fourth with the aid of a deflection off the hapless Neill.

The final half-hour was a stroll, with United going through the motions before embarking on their lap of honour. “The fans deserved that,” Ferguson said. “It’s sometimes difficult to do that when you haven’t won anything. We haven’t won anything yet, but I think what we tried to do was to honour the fans, who have been really fantastic this season. On Tuesday [against Barcelona] they were out of this world. Hopefully it was the right thing to do and hopefully we can celebrate properly at Wigan next Sunday.”

It remains to be seen whether Wayne Rooney will be able to play any part against Wigan Athletic. The England forward joined his teammates on the pitch for the postmatch festivities, having missed United’s past two matches with a hip injury, but Ferguson talked only of “doing our best to get him fit”.

With Nani suspended, though, the stage is set at the JJB Stadium for Ryan Giggs to equal Sir Bobby Charlton’s record of 758 appearances for United. It had long been thought that Charlton’s record stood at 759 until the club’s statistician discovered last week that the England World Cup-winner had in fact played no part in an FA Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers in January 1962. Giggs, after an impressive cameo on Saturday, is now one game away from equalling the record, which he could then beat by playing against Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 21. “Personal records don’t mean a lot to me when I’m still playing,” Giggs, 34, said. “At the moment I’m just thinking about winning trophies.”

Next Sunday they are likely to lift the first of those trophies at the JJB Stadium, at roughly the same time that West Ham’s players are trudging around Upton Park to thank their fans for their support during a mediocre campaign. If Curbishley has any sense, he will do as Ferguson did three years ago and leave the microphone alone.

Manchester United have drawn up plans to invite the players who survived the Munich air disaster to be guests of honour at the Champions League final against Chelsea in Moscow on May 21. To mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, in which eight of their teammates were killed, the five surviving players – Sir Bobby Charlton, Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Kenny Morgans and Albert Scanlon – will be among the club’s guests. How they rated

Manchester United (4-4-2): E van der Sar 6 O Hargreaves 6 R Ferdinand 6 W Brown 7 P Evra 7 Nani R 3 M Carrick 8 P Scholes 7 Park Ji Sung 6 C Ronaldo Y 8 C Tévez 7 Substitutes: R Giggs 7 (for Park, 61min), D Fletcher 6 (for Ronaldo, 64), J O’Shea (for Scholes, 74). Not used: T Kuszczak Anderson. Next: Wigan Athletic (a).

West Ham United (4-4-2): R Green 4 J Paintsil 6 J Tomkins 4 L Neill Y 3 G McCartney Y 6 M Noble 6 S Parker 7 H Mullins 5 L Boa Morte 5 R Zamora Y 5 D Ashton 5 Substitutes: N Solano 5 (for Boa Morte, 52min), C Cole 4 (for Ashton, 57), F Sears (for Mullins, 75). Not used: J Walker, J Collison. Next: Aston Villa (h).

Referee: M Riley
Attendance: 76,013

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