Zola demands more focus ahead of Wolves clash

(GSM) – West Ham Unites boss Gianfranco Zola is well aware of the challenge posed by Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday but is more than confident his men will be up for a “massive game”.

The manager would gladly take a repeat of the 2-0 win for the Hammers when the sides met back on the opening day of the season at Molineux. To help, he should have a number of key players back in contention as well as the support of 30,000 plus fans urging the team on to take a major step towards survival.

Julien Faubert, Kieron Dyer and Scott Parker may come into Zola’s thinking along with weekend substitutes Mark Noble, Benni McCarthy and Carlton Cole. Wolves themselves will arrive full of confidence. A 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Saturday lifted them a point above West Ham, who in turn could move six points clear of the drop zone come Wednesday morning with victory.

Zola, who has another major home match against Stoke City this weekend, said: “The table could look very different for us on Saturday night but we have to keep our mind on the job in hand. Once again, the fan support will be massive and we have to take advantage of being at home. We are all very positive and will give everything we can.”

“We cannot dwell on the weekend. We must think only of what we need to do against Wolves and then we can look to what we need to do on Saturday here against Stoke City,” he said.

Zola believed that his squad are to take the challenge and hoped positive result, “This is a massive game – a true six-pointer – and Wolves will be up for it as we are. They are in good form and got an excellent result at Aston Villa at the weekend. They can battle but they can also play good football.”

West Ham boss said to focus on the game, “We know it is an important game but we have to keep on the same line for all eight fixtures we have left to play. We have to prepare and be ready in the right way but also keep calm and avoid doing silly things. There are plenty of points left to win.”

“We will need to be at our best to get the result but we know what the potential prize is at the end of this week,” he added.