West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola warned Sunderland to be prepared for a scrap on Saturday afternoon. West Ham proved they are still willing to fight for their Barclays Premier League lives after last weekend's spirited draw at Everton ended a run of six straight defeats.

The Italian believes West Ham may have finally lifted themselves off the canvas - but he demanded his men show the same hunger for the fight against Sunderland.

"What we saw the other day against Everton was a different spirit and I am looking forward to seeing that," said Zola.

"We are going to fight for every single ball on the pitch, at every single opportunity we will have to be on top of them and that will make a big difference.

"Against Everton we were more aggressive, more organised and that was a big difference. It was effective.

"The team found themselves behind twice and came back both time, which shows that nobody wanted to give in to the difficulties.

"What was missing against Stoke and Wolves doesn't matter anymore for me. It is past, it his history. What is important is what we can give tomorrow.

"If we can play with a fighting spirit and the passion we did against Everton then things will go well for us. We go on the pitch with a new life.

"Before the game we will make sure they are fired up."