WEST Ham manager Alan Curbishley has admitted he was interested in signing Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe - who will miss tonight's game to attend his grandmother's funeral on the Caribbean island of St Lucia - last summer.

The pint-sized forward - scorer of eight goals in seven games since his January switch from Tottenham - began his career under Curbishley at Charlton before making a controversial move to Upton Park in 1999.

The Addicks received just £1.4million in compensation for a player who later joined Spurs for £7million.

"I've known Jermain a long while. He was at Charlton as a young boy of 12 or 13," said the Hammers boss.

"He's a goalscorer. It doesn't matter if he's three or 20 yards out or how they go in - he's always looking to score.

"He's had an impact like we'd like to have thought one or two of ours would have had but we've not been in that situation.

"When we were looking in the summer, we were looking at everything, but not at Christmas when it happened."

Curbishley believes 25-year-old Defoe, who missed a last-minute penalty for Spurs - where he was used mainly as a substitute - at the Boleyn Ground in November, is relishing his starting role at Fratton Park.

"I think he's needed to become a regular. It must be very difficult to be in and out, which was the case at Spurs, and I think he's relished the fact he's been playing regularly," he added.