Curbishley seeks renewed desire

West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley is seeking his side's first home win of the Barclays Premier League season.


And he believes the three points are just around the corner as long as his side rediscover some of the "oomph" which saved them from relegation last season.

The Hammers memorably escaped the drop courtesy of seven wins from their final nine matches last term and have made a solid start to this campaign, sitting comfortably in mid-table with seven points from four matches.

The 3-0 drubbing of Reading last time out has added to the already sky-high expectations at Upton Park this season, but Curbishley's new-look side have yet to hit any sort of form in front of their own fans.

break teams

A dismal opening-day performance saw them beaten 2-0 by Manchester City while the hosts escaped with a last-gasp draw against Wigan Athletic in their other home match, so Curbishley is desperate for his side to kick-start their home season with victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday.

"Our first home win is imperative," he said. "We fell flat on our face against City and against Wigan had to claw our way back, while away from home it's been different. We need to win our first home game and that's what we'll be stressing.

"The onus is on us at Upton Park and we need to stress that as well. We may have to be patient and break teams down, but that's only what the majority of the Premier League teams have to do at home."