Curbishley replaced Alan Pardew in December but his task of guiding West Ham clear of the relegation zone has turned into a mad scramble for survival.

Life has most certainly not been a bed of roses for Curbishley, who published an autobiography after he left Charlton last summer and already has enough material to warrant a new edition.

West Ham have been hit by a catalogue of injuries, a Premier League charge over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano plus further unwanted off-field distractions like Anton Ferdinand's court appearance for alleged affray.

The fans began to lose patience - chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" rang around Upton Park - as West Ham went 11 Barclays Premiership games without a win.

And for Curbishley, who lives just a couple of miles from the ground and was born into a family of West Ham supporters, there was no escape from the pressure of the situation.

But that book could yet feature a fairytale ending.

After a season of turmoil West Ham have belatedly discovered their form and fortune to win three straight matches and close within touching distance of safety with five matches left.

Curbishley said: "The job is bigger than I thought. I have realised that since I have been here. I have got a few chapters I could write already!

"But it is not something that is scary. I let the opportunity to manage West Ham slip once and when the chance came up I wasn't going to let it slip again.

"We were written off three or four weeks ago, quite rightly so because we were 10 points away from safety.

"But we have narrowed that down. We've given ourselves a shout.

"There is a long way to go but if we can turn it around it will be a great result for us and we have got to do that."

West Ham tackle fellow relegation strugglers Sheffield United, who are three points better off, in a must-win game at Bramall Lane on Saturday.

Curbishley is confident last weekend's 1-0 victory over Arsenal will help inspire the Hammers as they prepare for the toughest run-in of all the relegation candidates.

"We've got a massive week, with three games in a week - Sheffield United, Chelsea and Everton. All of those games are massive for us," said Curbishley.

"There are defining games. The result we got against Arsenal last weekend gave everybody a lift and it could be the same on Saturday.

"There's no way we'll go to Sheffield United thinking, 'We've just beaten Arsenal, this is different.'

"It's not different and that idea has been dropped completely because of the previous run we've had.

"It will be one hell of an atmosphere on Saturday. Both clubs need the three points and I think it could be a long 90 minutes with quite a few twists and turns."

Curbishley's life-long connection with "my club" West Ham is mirrored by Neil Warnock's at Sheffield United.

And Curbishley holds the controversial and outspoken Blades boss in the highest esteem.

"Sheffield United is Neil's club and I think the pride he took in getting them into the Premiership will only be equalled if he keeps them up," said Curbishley.

"If you look at Neil Warnock's record, when he started, he brought Scarborough and Notts County through the leagues, and turned down the chance to go to Chelsea.

"He's a bit like Dave Bassett, wherever he's gone he's down well and he's brought success.

"I think he's done a fantastic job there. When we talk about Sheffield United to our players it's about what certain players can do and not how physical they are."