FA Premiership/ Reading 6 West Ham Utd 0:When Alan Curbishley arrived at Upton Park three weeks ago, it was assumed his expertise would enable West Ham to avoid relegation with ease. When he won his first game, against Manchester United, it was apparently a done deal.

Not any more. Curbishley has presided over three consecutive defeats that have left his side in the mire, and while excuses could be made for the first two this one was as bad as it gets.

Reading were excellent, ending a six-match run without a win, but if they stay in the Premiership for the next century they will never have as easy a game as this. West Ham were pathetic, four goals down by half-time.

This West Ham side has three main problems: a jittery defence, a non-existent midfield and a miserable excuse for an attack. As soon as they went a goal down they played like a side who knew they had lost. "That has been coming," Curbishley said. "The players have shown me why they're down there . . . Reading had everything we didn't: enthusiasm, pace, shape, aggression and, above all, hunger. They want to be in the Premiership, they want to drive a Bentley."

West Ham have been on the road to nowhere since their appearance in last season's FA Cup final. "Everyone should forget last year," said Curbishley. "The players haven't got the experience to sort this out for themselves. You're not a Premiership player until you've done it for five or six years. Some of them have done it for one and a bit seasons. They've got the ability, but they have to start showing it."

The only thing they showed yesterday was the white flag, from the moment Reading took the lead in the 12th minute. Danny Gabbidon took limpet-like defending too far by attaching himself to Kevin Doyle 30 yards out, and the outstanding Nicky Shorey sent in a dipping free-kick for the unchallenged Brynjar Gunnarsson to head past Robert Green in the West Ham goal.

The second goal three minutes later was exquisite in its simplicity. Glen Little clipped a neat ball in behind the defence for Steve Sidwell, and his lobbed cross was headed in by the unmarked Stephen Hunt at the far post.

West Ham could not shake their left knee and they were three down after half an hour when Shorey, from wide on the right, whipped in another free-kick that Anton Ferdinand could only head into his own net.

Shorey is a decent outside bet to get representation of a different sort, in an England shirt, if he carries on like this. In the 36th minute he made the fourth goal with a glorious slalom that took him infield and passed three players before he poked the ball through to James Harper, whose low cross was rammed in gleefully by Doyle. "A magical goal," said the Reading manager Steve Coppell, who even broke the habit of a lifetime and smiled when it went into the net.

Curbishley settled for damage limitation by bringing on Jonathan Spector for Marlon Harewood at half-time ("Our aim was to stop it being eight," he explained later). But the goals continued to flow. The fifth, like all the others, came across from the right: Doyle released Sidwell, and his low centre was squeezed past Green by Leroy Lita.

Green made an outstanding save to deny Doyle the sixth, but he could do nothing when another sublime dead-ball delivery from Shorey invited Doyle to head his 10th Premiership goal of the season. From there it could have been anything, but Reading's fans and players were content to "Ole!" their way through the rest of the game. "You just enjoy the moment," said Coppell, "and accept the fact it won't continue next week."

• Guardian Service

READING: Hahnemann, Gunnarsson, Ingimarsson, Sonko (Bikey 54), Shorey, Little (Oster 54), Sidwell, Harper (Ki-Hyeon 71), Hunt, Doyle, Lita. Subs not used: Federici, Long. Booked: Harper.

WEST HAM UTD: Green, Dailly, Ferdinand, Gabbidon, Konchesky, Bowyer (Newton 19), Reo-Coker, Mullins, Benayoun (Cole 78), Harewood (Spector 46), Zamora. Subs not used: Carroll, Tevez.

Referee: L Mason(Lancashire).