Source: Team_Talk
Zola wants Hammers openness
Gianfranco Zola has told West Ham's owners that conducting transfer dealings behind a manager's back is no way to run a football club.[LNB] Zola only discovered that West Ham had bid for the West Brom and Scotland midfielder Graham Dorrans when he read it in the newspapers.[LNB]The Italian was equally surprised when David Sullivan revealed in an interview that every member of the West Ham squad had been put up for sale, bar Scott Parker.[LNB]Zola refuses to discuss his future until the end of the season - but his professional relationship with the co-owners appears to have reached melting point.[LNB]"I did say to the chairman that I don't want to get involved in the financial side of transfers because the money is not my problem but I need to know who the players are that I will be coaching," said Zola.[LNB]"I think it is quite normal. I am the one who has to coach them and I need to know who I am coaching."[LNB]Zola has had his run-ins with Sullivan before this season, when the new owner blasted the team's performance against Wolves as "pathetic" and "shambolic".[LNB]Despite feeling undermined, Zola was determined to make his point but not get involved in a public slanging match with the owners.[LNB]"When I speak I try to respect all the parties involved. In this situation there are so many parties involved. I do what I do not just for the owners but also for the fans," said Zola.[LNB]"I try to believe that in life you have to respect other people in front of you, no matter who they are. I have to live in that way."[LNB]Given all the turbulence at West Ham this season, Zola is proud to have kept the club in the Premier League with two matches remaining.[LNB]Even if he was to leave Upton Park in the summer, Zola insists his experiences this campaign have not put him off football management.[LNB]"The love for the game is massive and that won't change," he said.[LNB]"It is normal you have good moments and bad moments. It is how you deal with them that makes the difference.[LNB]"I think it has changed me in a better way. It certainly made me stronger and in the future when I have situations like this I would deal with them even better.[LNB]"It has been tough because these were all new situations. As a manager you have to approach the problems in a different way and it was tough.[LNB]"It was good because I had very good people around me. Every time we had a problem we dealt with it as a team and it worked out very well.[LNB]"In spite of all the things that have gone on around us, the players are committed to the club and they will do a job to the end."[LNB]On Sunday, West Ham travel to Fulham - a club where stability has helped Roy Hodgson take them from the brink of relegation into the Europa League final.[LNB]"I think he has done a brilliant job this year. I voted for him (as manager of the year)," said Zola.[LNB]"I am not envious of him - I appreciate and admire what he has done because I think he has achieved a big result with this team. I have respect for what he has done and I will tell him on Sunday when I see him.[LNB]"They have been successful because they have been working very hard and they have a good manager and they have a very good atmosphere. They are all part of a recipe for success.[LNB]"Roy Hodgson has created a balanced team where everyone works hard for each other. His experience, his composure has been a vital part in it."
