West Ham United boss Gianfranco Zola is looking forward to facing Millwall in the Carling Cup.

"There is a very strong connection with Millwall," he told whufc.com. "It is funny. Last year in October when things weren't going very well for us, I stopped at a petrol station and this big bloke came up to me.

"He was huge. It was two degrees outside and he was in short sleeves. He came to me and said 'Franco, you are my hero!' I thought, this man must be a West Ham supporter or maybe a Chelsea supporter.

"He said: 'Look, I am Millwall. I am very pleased because you are taking West Ham down!' I realised then about the relationship between the two clubs…."