Former United midfielder Alan Curbishley has been installed as the favourite to succeed Alan Pardew.
Curbishley - who parted company with former club Charlton after 15 years last summer - is odds-on favourite to follow Pardew, who was unceremoniously dumped by the club's new Icelandic owners this morning after three years at the club.BetDirect spokesman Charlie McCann, commenting on the race to become West Ham's eleventh full-time manager said tonight:
"We have been inundated with requests for Alan Curbishley to take the vacant West Ham managerial position and have slashed him from 2s through 7/4 and all rates down to 1/2.
"Punters believe it to be a one horse race."
Also in the frame to succeed Pardew are likes of Terry Venebles (8/1, Ladbrokes) and Iain Dowie (14/1, PaddyPower) - whilst caretaker boss Kevin Keen is currently quoted at 16/1 on VC Bet.
One name that would already appear to be out of the running is former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson, whose agent Athole Still claimed would not be interested in the vacancy.
However the Swede is yet to comment personally, and as a result remains second-favourite behind Curbishley at present.
Eggert Magnusson - whose decision to sack Pardew has been fiercely criticised by a number of supporters today - is yet to comment on the situation, but as someone with a wide network of contacts throughout the football world it is quite possible that Alan Pardew's eventual successor hasn't even been mentioned as yet.
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