Alan Curbishley is satisfied with his West Ham squad leading into the January market.

He told whufc.com: "Back in the summer, we knew exactly what type of player we wanted and we worked ever so hard to bring in people with Premier League and Champions League experience, who could be around for a few years.

"After losing the little triangle of Yossi Benayoun, Nigel Reo-Coker and Carlos Tevez, we wanted our signings to make an immediate impact and although we responded with Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy, Julien Faubert and Kieron Dyer, unfortunately the injuries meant that it just never happened. We've taken some big hits.

"When I knew that Nigel Reo-Coker was going, I had no hesitation in going for Scotty and the chairman backed me but within a fortnight we'd lost him. And then when he returned, he got injured again but, fortunately, we're gradually getting players like him back to fitness. The same goes for Dean Ashton and, slowly, we're getting there.

"Meanwhile, people have stood up and they've come to the front and great credit has to go to all the players for picking up 25 points before the halfway mark of the season."