Zola: going nowhere

Gianfranco Zola has reaffirmed his commitment to West Ham United.

Some doubts have been cast over the Italian's future in recent weeks following United's poor start to the 2009/10 season. However Zola brushed off rumours suggesting he may be preapring to jump ship by confirming that "my future is here".

Talking ahead of tomorrow's Premier League clash at Stoke, Zola said:

“My future comes and goes through this club. I owe a lot to this club. I am determined to fulfil my promises and the expectations the supporters and the club have in me.

"I will do this job as well as I can; I am totally focused on that. The rest doesn’t count.”

Zola - who will be without Scott Parker for tomorrow's trip to the Brittania Stadium due to suspension - added that the game carries extra importance due to United's precarious league position, and insisted that his players must improve on recent performances.

"They have to perform," he warned. "They are focused and they know the position is not very good and is probably not the position that we deserve. We are determined to fight and to improve it straight away.

"Saturday is a difficult game with a difficult opposition but the focus is there. I have a lot of respect for Stoke and for the manager - they are a tough team.

"We know what is coming and we feel that we need to take out our A game if we want to come out with something and the players are determined to do that.

"Last year we did very well with them - and we will try and repeat them on Saturday."