Gianfranco Zola has been delighted by the commitment of his West Ham players in training this week.
New Hammers boss hails players' attitude
Gianfranco Zola has been delighted by the commitment of his West Ham players in training since taking charge at Upton Park.
The Italian watched from the stands as the Hammers lost 3-2 to West Brom at the weekend before he officially became manager on Monday.
Zola has been focusing on the fitness of his players after coming to the conclusion that they began to tire against the Baggies.
He has been impressed by their work ethic but has refused to set any targets for the rest of the season at this stage.
"The training sessions have been spot on and all the players have been very committed," Zola explained.
"They have been very keen and full of enthusiasm, which is a very good indication for a manager.
"It is too early for me to tell you where we are going to get because I need to see them for a couple more weeks, but as long as they can keep this attitude they can go far."
Ashton boost
Zola will be without Dean Ashton for the clash with Newcastle on Saturday after the striker picked up an ankle problem.
Reports suggested that Ashton could be sidelined for a month but Zola expects him to be back much sooner.
He explained: "Deano unfortunately won't be available this week. He will have to rest but he will be ready to start again next week.
"We will monitor his condition but at the moment he needs one week to recover.
"He already had a problem and the ankle got sore when we were training so we had to stop him.
"Craig Bellamy also has a problem, it's his old one. We don't know yet whether he is going to be available for Saturday."
