Alan Curbishley has hit back after his policy of buying apparently injury-prone players was cited as one of the reasons for the club's recent disappointing form.
The Hammers boss has been criticised in some quarters for purchasing a number of players with long histories of injury problems, such as Kieron Dyer and Craig Bellamy, which had led to a shortage of players in certain areas.But talking in yesterday's pre-match press conference Curbishley hit back at his critics, saying that most of the long term injuries experienced this season were unavoidable and therefore out of his hands.
"Kieron Dyer played for 18 months before his injury and was playing in the England squad then broke his leg," he said. "Nobody gives that a lot of thought.
"Faubert ruptured his achilles, Scott Parker took three hits to his knees where he's done his ligaments. Some of those injuries you just can't legislate for.
"Three or four of the injuries have been recurring injuries that the players had before I got to the club," he added. "Etherington; Bowyer; Gabbidon with his pelvis. Collins, which was another instant.
"When I look at the injuries each week we've got eight, nine or ten. Three or four you can't legislate for, three or four are recurring injuries - which is something we've got to try and do something about - and then the others are just wear and tear.
"Bellamy's never had this stomach problem before, so we've just been unlucky on certain occasions. But I don't want to keep using that as an excuse as it's disrespectful to the other players."
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