Zola to announce decision

Former Chelsea striker to decide on Hammers role

Last updated: 9th September 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Zola to announce decision

Zola: West Ham decision

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Gianfranco Zola says he will decide on Wednesday whether to accept the West Ham job.

The Hammers have refused to confirm that Zola has been offered the chance to succeed Alan Curbishley at Upton Park.

But Zola is expected to take charge after Slaven Bilic, Brian Laudrup and Roberto Donadoni were ruled out of contention.

The Chelsea legend did not want to comment on the reports of a move back to England while he was still on duty with Italy's Under-21 side.

Zola, assistant to Pierluigi Casiraghi with the Azzurrini, saw his young charges claim top spot in their European Under-21 Championship qualifying group as they drew 1-1 in Croatia.

Now he has confirmed that he will make a decision on his future on Wednesday and he is widely expected to accept the task of taking charge at Upton Park.

Respect

"I did not want to talk about West Ham up until now out of respect for the (Italian Football) Federation," Zola told Sky Italia, following the match in Croatia.

"I owe them so much because they gave me the opportunity to have this extraordinary experience. I will decide tomorrow (Wednesday) and then I will talk."

Zola admits his success with the young Italian squad has taken him by surprise.

"To be honest, I did not intend to become a coach, but I got enthusiastic about the experience and now here I am," he continued.

"Let's say I found a group of players here who were able to get me enthusiastic and they taught me so much."