Hughes delight at Zamora deal

Fulham boss insists striker was never going to leave

Last updated: 10th September 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Hughes delight at Zamora deal

Zamora: New four-year deal

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Mark Hughes believes it is a feather in Fulham's cap to have secured England striker Bobby Zamora on a new four-year contract.

Zamora pledged his long-term future to the Cottagers on Friday and the extension was a reward for an impressive past 12 months.

Fulham boss Hughes has reiterated his recent comments regarding how impressed he has been by Zamora since taking charge at Craven Cottage.

And Hughes also expressed his delight at being able to hang on to the 29-year-old, who made his England debut in last month's friendly against Hungary.

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"Bobby's a good player and I've been really impressed with what I've seen," he said. "Maybe I underestimated his ability like many other people have.

"But having worked with him on a daily basis I've been very impressed with the way he brings team-mates into the game.

"He's a big lad who can look after himself, which is important, and when he's in full flow he's difficult to stop.

"He's a big part of our focus as an attacking team. I like his personality and he's very popular.

"There's more to come from him. He's 29 and that's when strikers reach their best.

"They mature and understand how they can be effective in games, which only comes from experience.

"We think we'll get his best years and that's why we've signed him until 2014.

"To get him signed up again is a feather in our cap. He's happy here and is happy with the environment.

"There was interest from other clubs in Bobby because he's a good player, but he was never going to leave."