West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is happy with the coaching team he has assembled.

He said: "I have enjoyed it very much. It is a new challenge. It is a difficult challenge ... I really like to test myself with new things and this is a new thing where I am sure that I can do well. I have also got great people around me like Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen and Antonio Pintus. They will be helping me a lot and I am sure we can do a good job."

Zola told his players his first West Ham United selection by simply pinning the team sheet to the wall and he acknowledges that leaving players out is "certainly the hardest thing about being a manager".

He also told whufc.com: "I know how important it is for a player to play and that is something that unfortunately has to be done. I always do that with difficulty.

"I realise that sometimes now I will have to be unpopular. As long as I make sure that all my choices are honest choices there shouldn't be a problem. What explanation can you give? They have to be intelligent to understand that I can only pick eleven players and seven can go on the bench. It is a choice. It may sometimes be a wrong choice but I am in the position to make the choice and they have to respect it."