Alan Curbishley said that a "breach of trust and confidence" led to his resignation as West Ham United manager yesterday after less than two years at Upton Park.

Curbishley, 50, who also played for West Ham in the 1970s, succeeded Alan Pardew as coach in December 2006, but explained in a statement released through the League Managers' Association (LMA) that his position had become untenable.

"I have been incredibly proud to manage such a great club and my decision to resign has been very tough," he said.

"The selection of players is critical to the job of the manager and I had an agreement with the club that I alone would determine the composition of the squad. It was made quite clear that I had the final say.

"However, the club continued to make significant player decisions without involving me. In the end such a breach of trust and confidence meant that I had no option but to leave."

In an interview with Sky Sports News he added:

"On Sunday morning I went into a meeting at Upton Park and was hoping to bring some loan (signings) in and I was told that I would not be in that position unless someone left the club and said 'well let's all go home then' because I don't want anyone to leave because I was happy with the way things were.

"I was quite happy to stick with the squad if I could not improve it, but that was not the case."

He had already made it known he was upset about the sale of Anton Ferdinand to Sunderland last week and the sale of defender George McCartney, also to Sunderland, just before the close of Monday's transfer window was the final straw.

"I could not just sit around and be silent about it," he said.

His resignation was accepted by the club's Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson.

The club said their transfer policy was in the club's best interests and that the sales of Ferdinand and McCartney and the release of Freddie Ljungberg "were right for the club".

West Ham's next manager will be their fifth in the last seven years since Harry Redknapp left in 2001, a stark contrast to the six managers they had in an 88-year period from 1902 to 1990.