IF you thought a first win in five matches would be enough to cheer up most West Ham fans, then you'd be sorely wrong.

Instead, a narrow, slightly fortunate success against a Derby County side who had tasted victory just once all season was not enough to satisfy the Upton Park faithful.

Derby had won on just one of their previous 18 visits to the Boleyn Ground before Saturday's fixture - 2-1 on their last trip to E13 in January 2005 - but the relegated Rams could easily have repeated the trick after producing a stirring second half display.

However a late Carlton Cole strike spared manager Alan Curbishley's blushes, but not a tirade of jeers and abuse from sections of the distinctly unimpressed home crowd.

Curbishley, whose position has been called into question in recent weeks following a string of poor results and listless performances from his team, was forced to endure a chant of "You don't know what you're doing" when he sent on Cole as a second half substitute.

And despite the striker's match-winning goal all but securing a tenth-place Premier League finish, the Irons boss was mercilessly targeted again at the final whistle.

The reason for the fans' ire was not the unconvincing result, but a lacklustre performance taintedwith unimaginative, conservative football.

Curbishley deserves great credit for steering his injury-ravaged squad to a seemingly top-half finish, but West Ham fans demand style as well as substance - and style was sadly lacking for long stretches of Saturday's success.

The opening goal, Bobby Zamora's first in nigh-on a year, owed as much to Dean Leacock's mistake as it did to the striker's finish.

Zamora was fouled by Alan Stubbs and when George McCartney swung his free-kick into the Rams' penalty area, the forward was on hand to take advantage of Leacock's slip by nodding past former Hammer Roy Carroll.

Having gone ahead, the Irons consolidated their position, coming close again through returning France winger Julien Faubert's long-range strike.

At the other end, Paul Jewell's men went close through a Kenny Miller shot and Robbie Savage header.

And following a half-time talking to from Jewell, the Rams emerged as a far more potent force after half-time.

Freddie Sears and Scott Parker both fired shots off-target before the visitors took control of proceedings.

Robert Green had to be at his very best to deny the marauding Tyrone Mears on the hour-mark, but five minutes later the former Hammer showed the home crowd what they had missed out on by drawing the East Midlanders level.

From a West Ham corner, Derby broke forward in numbers, and Mears was on hand to fire home after being sent clear of Freddie Ljungberg by ex-Tottenham midfielder Hossam Ghaly.

The equaliser was no more than the visitors deserved for their refusal to give up, despite their hopeless league position.

Thankfully for Curbishley, his own players showed similar application after being pegged back.

Mark Noble tested Carroll with a diving header as the Hammers pushed for a winner, but the breakthrough did not arrive until the introduction of Cole.

The big forward had been on the field just three minutes when he was on hand to volley home following superb build-up play from Noble and Ljungberg.

The well-worked goal may have earned West Ham three points and a top-ten finish, but it was not enough to satisfy sections of the home crowd as Mears, Miller and Robbie Savage all went close to snatching a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser.

Had they done so, the boos that greeted the final whistle may have been the least of Curbishley's worries.