Alan Curbishley could not have planned it any better had he tried. With West Ham United fans growing restless and his position as manager in question, the last thing he needs is another 90 minutes punctuated by chants of "Curbishley out". From the moment Paul Ince steps off the Blackburn Rovers team bus today, Curbishley will become public enemy No2 at Upton Park, for one afternoon at least.
"I didn't want to say that Curbs would be glad to see me there. But I have been thinking that might be the case," said Ince, who earned his pariah status with Hammers supporters in August 1989 when, while agitating for a transfer, he posed for a photograph in a Manchester United shirt. Even then the 21-year-old midfielder's move almost collapsed following a failed medical but the deal eventually went through, ensuring that whenever he returned to Upton Park as a player, particularly with United in the early 1990s, vitriol and hate spilled down from the stands.
Yet, as he prepares for his first visit there as a manager, Ince says he still retains huge affection, not just for the club that set him on his way as a footballer, but also for the supporters who continue to despise him. "I've been back so many times now that it's almost like second nature," he said, "but the last thing I want to do is make the game about Paul Ince going back to Upton Park.
"I know the reaction that I am going to get because I have been back nine or 10 times now, but at the end of the day, West Ham will always have a place in my heart because I started there as a kid when I was 10 or 11. I love the club and I love the fans and that will never change, irrespective of the reaction I get.
"I don't know whether the intensity has changed over the years since I left United. It's difficult to gauge. But I'm a big man with broad shoulders, so it never really affected me, no matter what level the reaction. It won't affect me when I go back with Blackburn either. But it will still be a proud moment for me to go back there, 20-odd years down the line, as a manager."
Ince joked of "feeling a chest infection coming on" earlier this week, but given the way he has begun life as a Premier League manager, he has little to fear. Rovers beat Everton 3-2 at Goodison Park on the opening day of the season and were then held at home 1-1 by promoted Hull City. Grimsby Town of League Two briefly threatened to spoil the start in the Carling Cup on Wednesday by taking an early lead at Ewood Park, but Rovers ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.
That evening West Ham beat Macclesfield Town by the same score, but there the similarities ended. They needed extra-time and the fans left Curbishley in no doubt about their feelings, chanting "you're getting sacked in the morning".
Ince was sympathetic to Curbishley's situation but that will end once the game gets under way. "If you are doing well at West Ham, they are the best fans in the world," he said. "If not, you know what you are going to get and I'm sure Curbs is aware of that. It all depends how the game goes. If we score early, we could turn the crowd against West Ham and that's what we are trying to do. But if West Ham score first, the fans will be chanting Alan's name. That's what can happen.
"I feel for Curbs, though, because people forget the fantastic job he did at Charlton. He had some stick during the Macclesfield game in midweek, but West Ham won 4-1 and are through to the next round of the Carling Cup and the result is what matters." But is Ince relishing the "gauntlet of hate" or will he be glad when it is all over? "Am I looking forward to it? Yes I am."
Macari: I was threatened by agent before move
West Ham United's former manager Lou Macari has said he was 'threatened' by Paul Ince's agent before the midfielder's controversial £1.5m move to Manchester United in 1989. In his autobiography Football, My Life, Macari said: 'I didn't know much about Paul Ince before I walked through the doors at Upton Park, but it did not take me long to get acquainted. Within a week of my arrival I was told he was off to Manchester United. Not only that, I was threatened by his agent, Ambrose Mendy.
"I think it would be in your interests if you did not stand in his way," he said. "If you do, it could be a problem for you." I may have misunderstood the message, but it seemed menacing. What else could he have meant? I wasn't going to take any chances. I knew someone who moved in the same boxing circles as Mendy. I asked him to have a little word. As far as I was concerned Paul Ince was going nowhere.
'Matters came to a head... when Ince was pictured in the newspapers with a Manchester United shirt on. Now I had a problem. I was determined not to let Ince leave. No matter what Mendy said, I was ready to dig my heels in. Quite apart from anything else, I knew the fans were not going to stand for any of that crap.
'The West Ham support saw it as a betrayal. I couldn't disagree with them.' Mendy was unable to be reached for a response yesterday.
