Zola will not be sacked, says Sullivan

West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan insists the club has no intention of sacking manager Gianfranco Zola.

Zola was furious at the timing of Sullivan's revelation that salaries would have to be slashed to get the Hammers' £60million wage bill down to manageable levels.

It came less than 24 hours before last night's vital Premier League encounter against Birmingham at St Andrew's, when Sullivan and West Ham co-owner David Gold took on the club they sold last October.

But speculation Zola could be on his way out of the club should they lose against Birmingham at Upton Park was rejected by Sullivan.

"He is entitled to his opinion and I respect that," Sullivan said. "I hope it galvanises the team and the manager to produce a wonderful performance.

"If we win tonight I have made my point, if we lose he has made his point. All I can say is that in 17 years we sacked two managers at Birmingham. We are not sackers.

"We support managers and he [Zola] is 100 per cent secure. We will bring in players to improve the team in the summer.

"Birmingham are a very good side. I don't see it as a grudge match or anything like that. I see this as just another game and one where we really do need to get three points.

"If you said at this moment who is the better team then statistically you would have to say Birmingham are the better team.

"But if you say who is the bigger club then all the statistics support that West Ham are the bigger club. I am very confident that over the next 14 games, the team will improve and we will claw our way up the Premier League table."

Zola, who was handed a £1.9m-a-year contract when he joined the club 17 months ago in his first managerial position, pleaded for the West Ham fans to get behind his team and said: "I am what I am and I believe in what I do and I think we can produce good results.

"I am too connected and tied up to the players. I have a relationship with them and the supporters. I do not like to leave a situation unfinished. The players are focused on the job.

"I am not here for the money. Last year when I signed a contract I didn't even know how much I was going to earn.

"I had a plan and a project. It's not about money. It is about working for something positive. I have always enjoyed working for this club. The money was something that came after."

On Sullivan's wage-cut plan being revealed in the media Zola added: "It would have been better to talk to us before talking to a newspaper. That is my feeling. I think the article should have been done at another time, not just before a match."

Zola did not rule out taking a cut and maintained he would discuss the matter with the owners, but he rejected Sullivan's claims he might be "too nice" to be successful.

And he fired a warning to the co-owners when he said: "I am a person of principles and I am not going to allow anybody to walk on my principles."