Curbs Says Ashton Stays at West Ham

Alan Curbishley has denied that there is a rift between Dean Ashton and himself. He says that Carlton Cole got the nod ahead of Ashton for the Man Utd game because he was more suited to the formation he wished to play,

“For the past few matches we've played 4-5-1 and Carlton Cole, at this stage, is more suited to that role than Dean," said the West Ham manager.

“I spoke to him before the Manchester United match and I think he understood. After that result it was no surprise we stuck with the same system against Arsenal.

“Dean had an uninterrupted run of games when he came back until he injured his knee. Since he's returned, he's been okay again with no other problems.

We've had a lot of games in a short space of time and I didn't want to overload him. He should be nice and fresh now as we go into Saturday's FA Cup tie against Manchester City."

Alan Curbishley also said that West Ham are not looking to sign anyone in January,

“Things could change if the position gets more acute but I don't envisage us doing much, if anything, during this month.”