From correspondents in London, England, 07:31 PM IST

Italian Gianfranco Zola has promised to invoke Diego Maradona's vibrant and exciting style of play in West Ham United in their first clash against Newcastle United at Upton Park.

Zola had spent the early part of his career at Napoli playing alongside Maradona. He said that his love for expansive and attacking football developed from his relationship with the Argentine.

'Diego had many things to tell me but what I liked about him was that he always had the right solution on the pitch. We had a particularly good relationship. Then he was the best player in the world by far and probably the best player of all time, but he was humble and genuine,' Zola was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

A manager-less Newcastle's woes doesn't seem to end as striker Alan Smith was ruled out for the rest of the year. The former Leeds and Manchester United striker suffered a stress fracture of a foot and will undergo surgery, which will keep him on the sidelines for three months.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)