West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola refused to condemn his players after defeat to Stoke City.

Zola is convinced they deserved something from the game and remarked: "Well it's frustrating for us to come out with no points because when they scored the second goal it looked like we were going to win that game. It's tough for me to comment on that.

"It's tough for me to have a go at the players as I think they gave everything. It is encouraging that if we play like that it will be a different story soon - that is all I can say about that."