West Ham 4
Macclesfield 1
aet, 1-1 90mins

Alan Curbishley today called on West Ham's players and fans to unite when Blackburn Rovers visit Upton Park on Saturday. A section of the Boleyn Ground crowd turned on the manager last night when his team were trailing League Two Macclesfield with 74 minutes gone in their Carling Cup second round tie.

Chants of "your getting sacked in the morning" could clearly be heard before Lee Bowyer cancelled out Gareth Evans' opening goal and forced the match into extra time.

The Hammers eventually prevailed 4-1 but a much stiffer test lies ahead, when old-boy Paul Ince brings Rovers to East London.

"It's a big game for all sorts of reasons," said the West Ham manager.

"What can I do about the criticism except win games and keep going? The fans, when they are behind us, are brilliant - they have got to realise the effect it has when they are not behind us.

"It's happened to other managers but I've had this for a little while now but I'm a big boy. I've looked from afar when the spotlight has been on other managers and wondered what it would be like.

"I understand it now but the players are the ones who have to go and perform."

Curbishley also insisted chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson was right behind him and that there would be no more departures before the transfer window closed.

He added: "I have the full support of the board though. I have no doubt about that.

"I understand the responsibility of being West Ham manager. When the crowd here are behind you it's fantastic but when they're not, they let you know.

"I don't think the morale is too bad. We were all desperately disappointed at Manchester City. We looked for a better performance against Macclesfield and we certainly need a better performance against Blackburn on Saturday."

The decision to let Anton Ferdinand join Sunderland for £8million has been at the heart of the current unrest.

Striker Carlton Cole, who came on as a second-half substitute to score in extra-time claimed he was "really disappointed" at the sale of Ferdinand.

Cole said: "He was a close friend of mine even before I joined the club but times move on and I am sure he will do fantastic up there. It's a great signing for them."

But Matthew Upson described the decision to sell the defender as " business" and said he had no complaints with the board, adding: "I don't know where he was contractually. There are a lot of factors other than what he's doing on a football-pitch and what the manager needs.

"At the end of the day the club is a business and if the owner sees fit to run it that way, that's his choice. It's not up to us to complain about it, we have to get on with things."

Upson joined West Ham from Birmingham in the winter transfer window of 2007 when the club were spending big money on players.

The contrast between then and now, with the club attempting to balance the books, is stark and Upson admitted: "It's changed very quickly here, hasn't it? It just shows you that it's all very well having that money but if it's not invested wisely and you don't get the benefits from that money then you can soon find yourselves in trouble."

"The England defender also believed that frustrated West Ham fans - only 10,055 turned up - were right "to be impatient" with the team's sub-standard performance against a team who are 91st in the League and who played the whole of extra-time with ten men after defender Izak Reid was sent off for two bookable offences.

Upson said: "If they're angry at the manager, then that's something he needs to deal with but I'm sure we'll get going and things will get better.

"I wouldn't say the spirit is too bad and when it settles down behind the scenes and stabilises a bit more then things will improve."

Macclesfield, who had failed to score in three League matches so far, took a shock early lead through Evans which they held until Lee Bowyer, West Ham's best player by a distance, equalised.

Further goals from Cole, Zavon Hines on his debut and Kyel Reid, eased the pressure slightly on Curbishley in extra time.

• Third-round draw is live on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday from 12noon