West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola insists their Carling Cup defeat to Watford was not influenced by the day's earlier events involving their compo defeat to Sheffield United.

"I don't want to find any excuse for the defeat," Zola said. "It has not been a great day for us. But I knew the match would be tough - it came at the worst moment. It is a big blow, but we will bounce back."