The kingmakers - Curbs and Kev hold key to title

Will Keegan really "love it" if his Newcastle team deny Chelsea points next Monday and help his old adversary Sir Alex Ferguson to triumph yet again?

Can Curbishley frustrate his good friend and mentor Fergie on Saturday and allow West Ham's fierce London rivals to run up the blue flag, which most Hammers fans would rather stick where the sun does not shine?

"It's our job to help Manchester United win the title and it's not easy for me to say that,' said Keegan, with a twinkle in his eye, before quickly adding: 'I'm only kidding. The thing I like about this League is that there's an integrity to it.

"If we were in Spain now, we'd be getting an offer of a bonus from Manchester United to beat Chelsea. Definitely. It happens and it's allowed. That can never happen here."

He might not receive a bag of cash but Ferguson will surely ship a crate of wine to Tyneside if Keegan's team can extend their unbeaten run of seven against Chelsea.

"I doubt it," grinned Keegan. 'Not a good one anyway. It'll be one of those Chateauneuf du Plonk!"

Then he remembered himself again and added: "I'm only kidding. I don't have a preference who wins the title.

"The best team usually win — except the time when we lost it. That time the best team came second."

The depth of ill-feeling may have eased in the 12 years since Newcastle and Manchester United were duelling for the Premier League crown and Keegan directed his famous rant at Ferguson on Sky Sports, but Curbishley, b y contrast, is a card- carrying Fergiephile.

In his newspaper column last week, the West Ham manager said it would be an 'injustice' if the title were to escape United and that, if they won it, he would 'raise a glass' and toast Ferguson: "The best there is, and may ever be."

Fergie and Curbs are firmly rooted in the old school of British football and both are great advocates of the managers' union, the LMA. It sits uneasily with them when an outsider like Avram Grant appears without the required qualifications and lands one of the top four jobs in the country.

But Curbishley insisted: "We've got our own situation to play for. Alex knows there are no gimmes."

West Ham won at Old Trafford on the final day of last season, when a Carlos Tevez goal saved the Hammers from relegation. On that day, United already had the title in the bag.

"It's a totally different set of circumstances," said Curbishley. "We don't have the same pressure on us. But we want to finish the season as strongly as we can, we'll give it our best shot.

Curbishley's team outplayed Newcastle for the first 40 minutes. Mark Noble and Dean Ashton gave the home team a 2-0 lead, but a lapse at the back allowed Obafemi Martins to pull a goal back and Geremi claimed a scrappy equaliser before the interval when he headed a bouncing shot from Martins past Robert Green.

There was only one unhappy note — West Ham's Swede Freddie Ljungberg now faces a race against time to be fit for the Euro 2008 Finals in June. He cracked a rib in a collision with Newcastle's Steven Taylor and will be out for six to eight weeks.

There were more chances at both ends and appeals for penalties. Newcastle thought Martins had been up-ended by John Pantsil and West Ham appealed when the ball popped up on to Michael Owen's hand as he defended in his own area. "Alan Curbishley and Mervyn Day both said they'd seen them given,' said Keegan. "I said: "Yeah, at Old Trafford"."

He was only kidding, no doubt, but the Hammers will find out next weekend.