West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley has hit out at the way managers are treated in the Premiership.

"Short-termism is the name of the game these days and it is unhealthy," said Curbishley.

"How on earth can managers plan for the future, build a club when you know, especially in the Premiership, that there is the spectre of catastrophic relegation and all that means in terms of lost revenue?

"The Championship and even the First Division are littered with clubs who have been major forces in football but who are struggling badly now. We're playing one of them tonight in Coventry. The expectation level now, though, is as never before. There is no escape.

"Everyone has a view these days and people listen. Everyone wants success and they want it now. If it doesn't look as though that success is imminent and because of that inflated expectation, then people begin to voice their criticism. With all the outlets for that criticism these days, it becomes louder and louder until it is deafening."

Curbishley has only to look across London to Stamford Bridge to see that memories can be short.

"It wasn't long ago that the Chelsea fans were threatening protests when Jose Mourinho went," said the West Ham manager. "How many dissenting voices were there last weekend, after they had beaten Manchester City 6-0?

"We all have to move on but short-termism isn't healthy. The influx of owners may have also contributed to the trend. The foreign owner needs to understand their club, what makes it tick, their traditions, their history.

"Take us Premier League club managers now. Everyone was waiting for something to happen at Tottenham. Now it has, where is everyone going to drift to next?

"Watch out anyone in the bottom six!"