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The only real surprise in the West Ham United saga is that Alan Curbishley did not leave at the end of last season. His tactics, too negative for many fans, did not endear him to the majority of the Upton Park faithful and his position became increasingly insecure as his relationship with certain players and the board grew more fractious during the summer.

Curbishley accepted that the squad would need to be trimmed in the summer as the club sought to recoup money spent in previous transfer windows, on fees and wages, but the last straw for the manager was when George McCartney left on the final day of the window on Monday, taking the club’s net transfer income this summer to about £15 million.

They gave consent to the left back’s formal request to return to Sunder-land for family reasons and made it clear to Curbishley that they had a replacement in Hérita Ilunga, of Toulouse. “I felt I could just not stand by and let what happened [pass], so I made a decision,” Curbishley said.

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Background

• Critical fans tough on Curbishley

• West Ham show off continental credentials

• West Ham's qualified backing for Curbishley

• Curbishley feels sympathy for 'pilloried' Grant

Background

• Curbishley in call for action

• Curbishley feeling like a hero at Upton Park

• Curbishley 'delighted' to be back home

• Curbishley announced as new West Ham manager

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The manager felt undermined because he claimed that he was given an assurance that no player would be sold after Anton Ferdinand left eight days ago. Curbishley was initially in favour of selling Ferdinand, whom he believed suffered from lapses of concentration, but he had wanted Richard Dunne as a replacement. When the Ireland centre back signed a new contract at Manchester City, Curbishley was less inclined to let Ferdinand go because of injuries to other defenders.

But it was becoming evident that the players had lost faith in playing for him. Their dismal 3-0 defeat by Manchester City 12 days ago was followed by a shabby performance in which they came from behind to defeat Macclesfield Town after extra time in the Carling Cup second round in front of only 10,055 supporters, some of whom chanted: “You'll be sacked in the morning.”

Curbishley admitted that there were disagreements in the dressing-room after the 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. He blamed the players for nearly throwing the match away when they led 2-1 and they responded that they had kept him in a job.

Curbishley often pointed out that West Ham finished tenth last season, despite injuries to as many as a dozen players at the same time, including Dean Ashton, the England striker. But clearly not everyone shares his conviction that results are all that matter. Win, lose or draw, an entertaining, adventurous approach and a slick passing style have been taken as read at Upton Park. He regularly faced chants of, “It's just like watching Charlton,” a reference to the organised style of football he oversaw at his previous club, but he argued that he should be judged on his promise of attractive football when he has a near full-strength squad.

Often, Curbishley appeared to be as negative and defensive as his tactics, making a victory seem like a defeat. “I took the criticism in a dignified manner and was taking it all on the chin and trying to turn things around,” he said. “A lot of fans would have seen I was doing a decent job. I know they wanted more and I just got a little glimpse of that at the weekend, with one or two more players returning, we would be on the right road.”

He considered stepping down last season, when the team lost 4-0 in three consecutive matches at the start of March, prompting the West Ham board to issue a statement declaring their continued support for the manager. But the club asked Gianluca Nani, whom they had appointed as technical director but who was still the general manager at Brescia in Italy at the time, to identify possible managerial candidates.

Curbishley, who had spent 15 years as manager at Charlton, began his reign at West Ham with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in December 2006, but a run of ten league matches without a win owed much to the players' unhappiness with his regimented training methods and disciplined manner. At least three players, including Nigel Reo-Coker, submitted a transfer request in the window at the end of that season.

West Ham stayed up on the back of seven wins in their last nine matches, which owed at least something to the players' desire to perform to secure a move elsewhere.

Possible East End boys

Slaven Bilic The Croatia coach and former West Ham United defender was installed as the favourite, but he is believed to have ruled himself out of the job last night.

Roberto Mancini The Italian is out of work after being sacked by Inter Milan in May. He won three consecutive Serie A titles but does not have a track record of developing younger players.

Paolo Di Canio The former forward has claimed that it would be a dream to manage West Ham, where he is considered a hero. The 40-year-old has no managerial experience, but could hope for a coaching role.

Davide Ballardini The former Cagliari coach claimed last night to know nothing of interest from West Ham after he emerged as second favourite for the post.

Pierpaolo Bisoli Identified by Gianluca Nani, the West Ham technical director, as a potential future manager. He took little-known Foligno into the play-offs for promotion to Serie C1, Italian football’s third tier.

Didier Deschamps The France World Cup-winning captain proved his managerial credentials by steering AS Monaco to the Champions League final at Chelsea’s expense in 2004.