Premiership: Charlton 4 - 0 West Ham United

The only thing missing after Alan Curbishley delivered his assessment of this humiliating defeat was a towel thrown from the West Ham manager's corner. Curbishley's crestfallen demeanour was that of a man who has come to realise he made the worst decision in his footballing life by choosing to return to management at Upton Park. There was no hint that he possesses the stomach for a fight and relegation must now be regarded as all but a formality.

From talk of "another miserable weekend" to "these are massive defeats" and "I'm not enjoying this one minute" there was nothing but doom and gloom in Curbishley's voice even before he discussed the possibility of his own dismissal. "I think that when it comes down to losing results it's the manager that perhaps takes it," said Curbishley. "Alan [Pardew] left the club because of results. He's copped it. If it happens to me, it's all about results and the players go on."

West Ham issued a statement immediately after a 10th league game without a win saying "the chairman remains fully committed to Alan", although that support must be viewed with some scepticism given that Eggert Magnusson sacked Pardew only 10 days after he had publicly backed the former West Ham manager. Against that backdrop and amid a disastrous run of results and growing supporter unrest Curbishley's future hangs in the balance. Curbishley expressed sympathy for the fans that chanted "You're not fit to wear the shirt" and the visiting end started emptying after Charlton scored a second in the 34th minute. "As I said to the players, them fans, who earn a fraction of what the rest of us do, make great sacrifices and we just haven't given them a lift," said Curbishley. "I think the most galling thing for them is what happened last year and this was so unexpected."

Defeats are no longer a surprise, though, and nor is the manner in which West Ham meekly surrender when a goal is conceded. Curbishley believes his inability to name the same team has been a debilitating factor during his reign. "I have been here for eight weeks and 12 games now and the side cannot stay together," he said. But that reasoning carries little weight given the quality of players remaining at his disposal and also the £18m splashed out in January.

Curbishley has never been familiar with the cheque-book and he appears to have spent like a novice. Matthew Upson, again ruled out with a calf injury, was injury-prone at Birmingham, Nigel Quashie arrived with four relegations on his CV, Luis Boa Morte, not even among the substitutes here, was an inconsistent performer at Fulham, while Calum Davenport, deemed not good enough for Spurs, proved again against Charlton that he is out of his depth in the Premiership.

Those failings do not, however, explain the remainder of the squad, many of whom were key components in leading West Ham to the FA Cup final and ninth place last season, playing with a glaring lack of conviction. Responsibility for their displays cannot fall solely on Curbishley's shoulders given that Pardew also experienced difficulties this season but the manager's forlorn body language can hardly have helped.

It was notable that there was no criticism of the players afterwards, with Curbishley probably mindful of the damage done when he chastised the "baby-Bentley" culture at the club following the 6-0 drubbing at Reading on New Year's Day. West Ham have never recovered from that setback and, when Curbishley talked about the fans being "shell-shocked", he might also have been describing his own mood. Managing Charlton had never been so challenging.

How he must wish he could swap places with Pardew, for whom this result provided vindication after his sacking at West Ham. Pardew has had limited funds to turn around a squad shorn of confidence but the few new faces that have come in, including Alexandre Song Billong on loan from Arsenal, and Ben Thatcher, signed from Manchester City, have added a competitive streak to a side replete with quality and experience.

That talent still needed to be galvanised and that is where Pardew, unlike Curbishley, appears to have triumphed. "The new gaffer has come in and he's basically made some good changes around the club that people won't know about," said Jerome Thomas. Motivational videos have been used and the players returned from Spain last week to find pictures of themselves next to selected quotes dotted around the training ground.

It is hardly ground-breaking sports psychology but Pardew got the response he was after. All of the aggression and desire emanated from Charlton while West Ham started as if they were expecting a pre-season game. Darren Ambrose converted the first goal, steering a first-time volley beyond Robert Green before Thomas took advantage of Christian Dailly going missing and Davenport's poor decision to back off to add a second.

West Ham were reeling and a third quickly followed in farcical circumstances when Paul Konchesky conceded possession and Davenport hopelessly attempted to play offside, allowing Darren Bent to mark his return from injury with a goal. Thomas added the fourth goal, sweeping Ambrose's cross inside the near post, leaving Pardew to ponder on the five wins he believes will be needed to stay up. Curbishley did not mention a survival target.

Man of the match Jerome Thomas (Charlton Athletic)