Paul Ince expecting usual welcome

Since then Ince has been back to Upton Park on numerous occasions as a player and the reaction has been unanimously hostile.

The former England midfield star, who has swiftly carved out an impressive managerial reputation since retiring from playing, can expect more of the same tomorrow, the difference being he will be in the dugout for the first time, rather than out on the pitch.

Ince himself has done his best to defuse the situation in recent seasons but, as he is likely to discover tomorrow, he has had only limited success.

He was even moved, not long ago, to explain the notorious shirt episode which so upset the Upton Park faithful.

"I spoke to Alex Ferguson," he recalled, "and the deal was close to being done. I then went on holiday and my agent said it wasn't worth me coming back to do a picture in a United shirt when the deal was completed, so I should do one before I left and it would be released when the deal was announced.

"The photographer took the picture and put it into the newspaper's library. Soon after, the sister paper were looking for a picture of me and found the one of me in a United shirt in the pile.

"They published it and all hell let loose. I came back from holiday to discover West Ham fans were going mad.

"It wasn't really my fault, I was only a kid. I did what my agent told me and took all the crap for it."

The photographer in question has since confirmed that Ince was blameless and, unlike a substantial number of West Ham fans, the Blackburn boss is keen to draw a line under the episode.

I have known Ince since he was a 17-year-old from a poor part of Ilford, desperately trying to make his mark in the West Ham first team. He would say then: "You know John Lyall, can't you talk to him? Tell him to pick me in the first team. I'm going crazy in the reserves."

Ince soon got his wish and it wasn't long before the big clubs were alerted to this midfield bundle of energy who liked tackling so much that he once said: "Tackling? It's better than sex!"

I have talked to Ince several times since those days and, despite the assured reaction from the fans, he retains a sense of affection for the club and the people who worked for it.

None more so, in fact, than the late John Lyall, a father figure to the often unruly Ince in those early days. If Ince owes Ferguson a debt of thanks for his development at United, then he surely owes just as much to Lyall, who put him back on track when he was threatening to self-destruct.

Ince demonstrated his gratitude for his former West Ham manager when he mentioned him by name at his inaugural press conference at Blackburn and he is certain to spare a thought or two for his mentor at some stage tomorrow.

"I don't know Paul," said Curbishley, "but it's good to see a young manager come through the ranks to the Premier League because it's unusual these days.

"Some others wouldn't have perhaps started at a club like Macclesfield, other top players wouldn't have gone there as manager but he went in there and turned things around."

Ince, like Roy Keane and Mark Hughes, has been mentioned as a possible successor to Sir Alex Ferguson when he retires and Curbishley said: "He ticks all the boxes, as do the others. They are all in there jostling.

"I don't know if the crowd will turn on him. I'm more interested in what is happening out on the pitch.

"Tomorrow is a big game for all sorts of reasons and I am looking for a better performance."

Right-back Valon Behrami faces a late fitness test after sustaining a nasty mouth injury against Macclesfield while Craig Bellamy is likely to be back in contention.