Zola up for the Cup

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola believes the FA Cup is as strong as ever ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Middlesbrough. Zola may be new to football management, but the former Italy international has already enjoyed success in the FA Cup as a player after winning the trophy twice with Chelsea.While some managers see the FA Cup as a distraction to their bid to retain top-flight status, Zola believes it would be disrespectful not to place a high valuation on the competition."It means a lot, an awful lot," stated Zola. "It is a fantastic competition and some say it is losing something but that makes no sense."We have to make sure everyone values it very much. It's unique."If I can win this as a manager then that would be great. I always say it was one of my best achievements to win it as a player."

Source: SKY_Sports