He wasn't good enough to get in last year's Hammers side, nor was he good enough to play for relegated QPR - but Mauro Zarate insists that he has a future at West Ham.
The 28-year-old forward, who was bombed out of the Boleyn by Big Sam last Christmas believes that Slaven Bilic's arrival gives him renewed hope of nailing down a first team place at the club."It is an exciting time for the club and I want to be part of that," he told a tabloid. "I know the new manager had a good relationship with his players at Besiktas and I want to work hard to become a part of his plans.
"West Ham is still a club that I love. I have been training hard and I am looking forward to showing that I can still be an important player for them."
Zarate was West Ham's first signing of last summer, having been signed on a free transfer from Velez Sarsfield. But after just six months he was shunted out to Queens Park Rangers on loan, having fallen out with then-manager Sam Allardyce.
That loan spell resulted in Zarate playing just four times for Rangers, as he failed to settle there either.. Only last month he was fined two weeks' wages for walking out of a pre-match session after discovering he had been dropped from the team to face Liverpool.
Rangers had previously tried to send the Argentine back to West Ham, due to his poor attitude and fitness levels.
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