Source: Team_Talk
Hughes pushes Zamora England claims
ew Fulham boss Mark Hughes has vowed to help Bobby Zamora break into the England side as quickly as possible.[LNB] Zamora enjoyed arguably the finest season of his career last term and was linked with a call-up to Fabio Capello's provisional squad for this summer's World Cup.[LNB]An Achilles injury ended any hope the 29-year-old had of forcing his way onto the plane for South Africa but the subsequent retirement of Emile Heskey has opened up one of England's striking berths for next week's friendly against Hungary.[LNB]Hughes, who was officially unveiled as Fulham manager on Tuesday after signing a two-year contract last week, is excited about working with Zamora and hopes to see him gain senior international recognition soon.[LNB]"Let's hope so - it's down to Bobby," Hughes said.[LNB]"We'll give him every opportunity to show what he can do. If he plays well for Fulham then he may get recognition at international level."[LNB]Zamora scored 19 goals in all competitions last season, and Hughes challenged him to better that tally this term.[LNB]The former Manchester City boss said: "He had a great season.[LNB]"What Bobby needs to do is obviously build on that and become a consistent scorer for seasons to come.[LNB]"That's the demand that we will place on him.[LNB]"It can't be that you just have one standout season and you don't build on it.[LNB]"That wouldn't be acceptable for any player.[LNB]"Certainly, from our point of view, we will drive players on to achieve what they're capable of.[LNB]"Bobby is a player who can achieve as much as he wants."[LNB]Hughes has admitted signing a strike partner, or understudy, for Zamora is his top priority.[LNB]Unlike the riches he had at his disposal at City, Hughes will be working with a tight budget.[LNB]He is keen on bringing through young players during his time in charge but is also expecting to be given some money to spend.[LNB]"The Premier League is an expensive league," he said.[LNB]"You have to invest in your playing staff.[LNB]"You have to sometimes be creative and make things happen to improve the quality if you can't just go out and blow people out of the market, which we obviously can't."
