West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is confident he can keep hold of his best players in January.
Hammers boss confident of keeping star assets
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola is confident he can keep hold of his best players in the January transfer window following Saturday's 2-2 draw at Newcastle.
The Hammers looked to be heading for victory at St James' Park as strikes from Craig Bellamy and Carlton Cole cancelled out Michael Owen's opener, but Newcastle rescued a point as Andrew Carroll scored his first league goal.
Zola had taken his side to Tyneside with speculation suggesting it was to be the last appearances of Bellamy and Scott Parker in claret and blue, with the duo both having been linked with a move to Manchester City.
West Ham are in need of funds as want-away owner Bjorgolfur Guomundsson feels the pinch in the credit crunch, but Zola - who has already sold Matthew Etherington to Stoke and loaned Lee Bowyer to Birmingham - remains optimistic.
Zola said: "I am very confident because this club is determined to improve and it's not true we want to sell our best players.
Outstanding
"The way we are playing and training this club deserves to be in a better position.
"Being a footballer I know it's not easy when you have so many words around you to concentrate and perform, but they are outstanding and I would say their performances have gone even higher in this period.
"I am sorry that Matthew and Lee went but I could not guarantee them first-team football. I hope they can have success where they go."
Meanwhile, Zola felt his side were robbed of a win after watching Bellamy and Cole cause Newcastle a host of problems.
"We probably deserved to win," added Zola. "But Newcastle, to be fair, tried until the end to get the equaliser and they did."
