Zola stands firm over transfer talk

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola reiterated his desire to keep hold of all his players in the January transfer window after the late win at home to Stoke.

Several of the Hammers squad have been linked with moves away from Upton Park, with Craig Bellamy reported to be attracting interest from Tottenham and goalkeeper Robert Green also being coveted by a number of other clubs.

West Ham’s financial woes have been well documented and the sale of players would ease the pressure on owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who wants to sell the club following huge losses as a result of the economic crisis.

But after the 2-1 triumph yesterday – West Ham’s first at home in seven attempts – Zola was once again defiant.

“The commitment is to improve this team so we’ll try to keep all our players,” he said. “Everybody at West Ham wants to take this team to a better level.

“It’s not easy because we have very good players in our team and big clubs are looking for good players.”