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West Ham United meet Chelsea this weekend in an always keenly contested London derby. And ahead of the clash, Hammers' boss Alan Curbishley has warned that for his Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant, the clock is already ticking for him to turn the club's fortunes around after their Carling Cup Final defeat by Spurs.

Curbishley believes the pressure is now on Grant to start winning trophies to satisfy Chelsea's owner Roman Abramovich, who will demand continuing eturns on his huge financial investment in the club.

One of the Barclays Premier League's longest-serving managers, Curbishley says Grant will not be given the sort of time that Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were to win trophies. The Hammers boss was at Charlton Athletic for 15 years before taking over at the Boleyn Ground 14 months ago.

He says Grant will be under intense scrutiny after vibrant Spurs came from behind at Wembley to beat a Chelsea side that looked unbalanced and tactically limited - especally as his predecessor, Jose Mourinho, won three out of three domestic cup finals in his three full seasons at Stamford Bridge, as well as two Premier League titles.

Curbishley told The Mirror: "It's the life we're in at the moment. Unless you get results and success quickly then you don't get the same time anymore.

"When you get to a high profile club everything you do is going to be looked at - body language, the way you walk onto the pitch, the way you dress, every last detail.

"Everything Avram Grant does is going to be analysed and that is something he has to handle. I looked at the cup final and the start was the most important thing and Tottenham made much the better start. If you are lucky enough to be a manager of a top-four club then that comes with the territory.

"If it's not Avram Grant, it's Rafa Benitez and if Arsenal weren't doing so well it would be Arsene Wenger.

"Being a manager is getting tougher.

"That honeymoon period has gone. You even look at someone like Dave Jones at Cardiff who was under pressure and then he turned it around.

"I think you get applauded over the top when you win, then you get over castigated when you lose. You have to take it with a pinch of salt.

"I've never been under too much pressure as a manager, apart from maybe when I was first at Charlton when I wanted to do things and change things.

"Even Sir Alex had a period where it wasn't going so well, but United showed the foresight to stick with it and I don't know if that is there any more. I managed my last game at Charlton at Old Trafford and I had done 15 years and Alex had done 20 years. I said to him the days of the two managers doing 35 years between them have gone."

source:goal.com