Gianfranco Zola has spoken of the positive impact given by his new forwards as he looks to a major meeting with Birmingham City on Wednesday night.
The manager was pleased with Benni McCarthy, Mido and goalscorer Ilan on their first West Ham United appearances in the 2-1 loss at Burnley on Saturday. With the trio having another few days to work with their team-mates before Birmingham, starting with plenty of hard work in training on Sunday, the manager is certain there is more to come from his January arrivals.
"I've only had the new players for a few days and they've come in and settled down really well," he said. "Now I'm looking forward to working with them and getting better and better."
Zola is hopeful the crowd will play their part in midweek, although he knows it is up to his men to give them something to shout about on a night when under-16s are able to get in for just a £1 under the Kids for a Quid initiative.
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The manager said: "It is fantastic that the club is doing something for the younger supporters. They are our future and I hope they and everyone who comes along will enjoy the match. I can promise that we will give everything for the victory. We will be up for it, there is no doubt about that."
He added that his team were especially desperate to make amends for coming away from Turf Moor with nothing, even if they did dominate the match. The Hammers produced a spirited second-half performance after falling behind to goals from David Nugent and Danny Fox, but debutant Ilan's consolation goal was not enough to avoid a disappointing defeat.
Zola said his players know they have to start picking up results sooner rather than later. "The players know that we need to react from this result. They want it and they're very committed and desperate to see the team become successful again. I'm sure they'll come back stronger.
"Even at 2-0 down, the desire of the team not to lose was great. To be honest, we deserved something out of the game. I know how important it is to come to these places and win. We tried very hard on Saturday and, unfortunately, it didn't work.
"I've got to get used to the fact that this is going to be a long season. I'm here to sort the problems out. Football is about balance between scoring goals and defending and I'm confident that we'll sort it out."
Zola has also vowed to work hard to eradicate defensive mistakes such as the one that led to Burnley's opening goal. A long ball forward from left-back Fox eluded Matthew Upson, allowing Nugent to get in behind him before lobbing over the advancing Robert Green.
"I didn't expect the mix-up for their first goal. Matthew and the whole of the defence should have run back to the area earlier. The first bounce put him off but David Nugent made a great run. We need to improve on that.
"Mistakes happen but even good and experienced players like Matthew Upson can make them but he's been excellent in the last few weeks and I've been praising the whole defence. I'm sure he'll make up for it."