Curbs praises Tevez

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley has singled out Carlos Tevez for special praise.

The Argentine star has started to show some of his undoubted talent in recent weeks after a difficult start to his Hammers career.

Tevez has scored two goals in his last two games and Curbishley has been impressed by the forward's efforts in the last few games.

"Tevez has taken the battle on," said Curbishley. "His work-ethic is what has captured the fans' imagination.

"That's the first requirement you need. He's taken that on since he's got in the side.

The difference in the last few weeks that we've got from Tevez is that he's doing a lot of his work in the final third, instead of dropping off and doing it in the middle third.

"He's been prominent in a lot of our attacking, trying to get in behind people and forcing the issue.

"In previous games he was drifting around and linking up play. We've asked him to be a bit more direct."

Curbishley also conceded West Ham might struggle to hold onto Tevez should they suffer relegation from the Premiership.

"The club are well aware of his situation so we'll have to see," added Curbishley. "I think he's enjoyed his time here, it's something we have to look at come the end of the season."