He will therefore continue talks with Charlton over a new contract although he ‘‘wouldn’t use that against the club’’ to gain a wage rise while being assured of more than £10million for new transfers.

Curbishley nevertheless remains the favourite to take over from Harry Redknapp, although the apparent arrival of another strong candidate, Steve McClaren, has further clouded the picture.

So while Curbishley admits it is flattering for him to be linked with other clubs, there must also be a feeling that he wants the situation sorted out as soon as possible.

Although Charlton had just completed their most successful season for 47 years, a 4-0 home defeat by Liverpool ensured their manager told his players in no uncertain terms that there is much hard work ahead.

‘‘I told them that when they couldn’t sleep, to put the tape on and realise what Liverpool did to us in the last 25 minutes,’’ he admitted.

‘‘You can’t take liberties like that. I was disappointed at the way the whole thing disintegrated, I was embarrassed and I can’t allow that to happen again.

‘‘It might not be such a bad thing though. One or two more people might have thought they knew it all and were there. I’ve let them know they haven’t arrived and it will be just as tough next year.’’

Whether he is there too remains to be seen.

As for those past offers from unidentified clubs, he revealed: ‘‘They approached the club, who let me know about it and I turned them down. It was in the last two years or 18 months, but not in the past week.’’

When Curbishley was then put on the spot in front of 20,000 fans after the game against Liverpool, he replied: ‘‘I don’t want to say anything other than I’ll be back here next season.’’

That was not exactly as unequivocal as it may have seemed, given that he is an ambitious man and insists that he cannot rule anything out until he is actually offered it.

But Charlton are evidently doing all they can to persuade Curbishley that although he admits the main priority for next season is still staying up, their ambitions can rise in the future.

A new stand is being built, striker Shaun Bartlett will soon be signed and other arrivals are likely, with Curbishley promised the bulk of next season’s estimated £17million TV revenue.

‘‘I’ve got a sizeable chunk of that and we spent quite a bit last year,’’ he said.

‘‘We think maybe a lot of clubs have spent this year’s money already with some of the dealings they’ve done.

‘‘We think that if you run a club properly, in the next couple of years, we might become one of the stronger clubs, but we have to stay in the Premiership.’’

He added: ‘‘I won’t deny the fact that it’s nice to be talked about.

‘‘If you are doing something right, and we’ve had a fantastic four or five years, you are going to be linked with jobs.

‘‘But if you’re talking about moving off to new pastures or a bigger club, you have to be offered that chance and to think about it.

‘‘As of yet, West Ham have not offered me that chance to even think about. That’s the bottom line.’’