West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley was happy to see Dean Ashton come through a bone-jarring challenge from Jon Boardman in yesterday's friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge.

"Was that a scare?" queried Curbishley. "No, because I think he milked it a little bit! You could see he was OK."

And Curbishley promised more tackles from where the Boardman crunch came as Ashton builds confidence that his ankle can stand up to everyday pressure.

The manager said: "I don't think many people would have kicked him like that in training but I've got a few people who like a tackle in Scott Parker and Julian Faubert. I'm just pleased Dean got through it."