West Ham, Zola: “Sears will have a big opportunity”

Gianfranco Zola is backing Freddie Sears to fire West Ham a step closer to Europe. If they finish seventh, that could yield a place in next season’s Europa League, which is replacing the UEFA Cup. Boss Zola must do without leading scorer Carlton Cole, who is banned after his controversial red card at Wigan last week.

The Sun reported Zola said: “Carlton is an important player for us and I don’t think that he deserved to get sent off last week. It’s a big miss for us as he is a reference for everybody”.

“But Freddie Sears has worked very hard in the last few weeks. He knows this is a big opportunity for him and I am very confident he will take it.”