West Ham United midfielder Jack Collison says the arrival of new gaffer Gianfranco Zola has been like a "breath of fresh air".

He said: "A new manager has come in at West Ham so I need to get my head down and try to impress him.

"He has been brilliant, a breath of fresh air. Training has been very sharp, and he is very bright and approachable with the boys, a lot of one-on-one stuff and I am really enjoying it.

"I am not going to slag off Curbishley because he gave me my debut,. He was good in his own ways and Zola is good in his ways.

"They both have their own style but this is a new experience and new challenge for me.

"I have spoken to Zola and he said that I need to be patient and wait for my chance, and I will get one.

"So at the moment I will work hard, and these two matches against England are a great opportunity for me to impress.

"Obviously there has a lot of banter going on at the training ground with Mark and I know his game very well.

"So it will be very interesting when we face each other. Obviously he is a rival for a midfield place at West Ham, but I train with him every day so I know a lot about him.

"Training has been very interesting under Zola. He has taken some players aside and helped them on an individual basis.

"With me, he said that I need to work on some technical aspects of my game and long passing. He did 15 minutes with me, and all things like that will help my game.

"I saw him take Freddie Sears aside and help him with his finishing."