George McCartney, the player whose deadline-day transfer to Sunderland caused a irreparable breakdown in relations between his manager Alan Curbishley and the West Ham United board, has accused the club's owners of ''trying to cover their tracks'' and failing to back Curbishley's judgement.
The Northern Ireland defender, who was sold against Curbishley's wishes for £6m last week, said the West Ham hierarchy undermined the manager, who resigned yesterday. "They [the board] have not been behind Alan Curbishley since the start of the season," McCartney claimed. ''It was a difficult time for him - they did not trust him with any money to spend. I cannot understand how a manager can be under so much pressure. He saved us from relegation and we finished 10th last year. This season has been the club's best start for years."
McCartney also stressed that he would have been happy to stay at Upton Park. "I have seen on the West Ham website I handed in a written transfer request. I never did anything of the sort," he said today ahead of his country's World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. "Probably the board at West Ham are trying to cover their tracks. I did propose that for family reasons I would like to move back north. But the manager said no, I wasn't leaving and just to concentrate on West Ham. I was happy to stay. That was on the Friday and I played my part in the Blackburn game on the Saturday.
"The thought of leaving was finished as far as I was concerned but then something changed. I got on an indication on Sunday that I could be on my way. These are strange times at West Ham and no one really knows what is going on at boardroom level."
Curbishley resigned as manager citing the sale of players against his wishes and a lack of support from the board. "I felt I could just not stand by and let what happened [pass], especially at the weekend, so I made a decision," he said.
West Ham's vice-chairman has blamed Curbishley for the wrangling over transfers. Asgeir Fridgeirsson rejected claims that the club's transfer policy represented a "breach of trust and confidence".
"We agreed a transfer budget and the way forward at an April board meeting," he told BBC Sport today. "Alan agreed with the plans, but was then reluctant to reach all the difficult decisions about the squad. If he had made this claim in April, when discussing our budget and plans for the forthcoming season, he might have a legitimate complaint. But he went to all the board meetings and was a dominant voice."
