Zola demands respect for 'unique' cup

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola insists those who devalue the FA Cup make "no sense" - and he is determined to win the trophy as a manager.

Zola won it twice as a player with Chelsea, including one Wembley win over Middlesbrough, who his side face in a fifth-round replay at the Riverside Stadium.

Rather than putting out a reserve team like other Barclays Premier League managers, Zola puts a huge importance on the trophy.

"It means a lot, an awful lot," he said.
"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."

Victory against Boro will set up a quarter-final trip to Everton but Zola will be without James Collins for the clash against Gareth Southgate's men after the defender suffered a hamstring injury against Bolton at the weekend.

Full-back Lucas Neill is back from suspension and James Tomkins is ready to deputise for Collins at centre-back.

"Obviously Ginge (Collins) has been doing very well when he has been playing but maybe there is going to be a chance for me," Tomkins said.

"You obviously feel for the lad and hope he's not going to be out for too long because he's been doing really well for us. If I get my chance I've got to take it, but no place is guaranteed at the moment."

The Hammers lost at Bolton, with Tomkins determined to give the club a boost with a cup win.

"In the dressing room everyone was down but we've got to pick ourselves up again quickly because we've got this game," he said.

"We have to look back at it quickly, look at the errors that we made and obviously carry on from there because we've got a big game coming up."