Another era kicked off at upton Park this week and skipper Lucas Neill believes it has taken little time for new boss Gianfranco Zola to make an impact on the West Ham squad.

The Italian may have held his first training session on Monday, but he conducted a 15-minute meeting with the players on his arrival on Friday.

And it appears that the former Chelsea star’s positive approach and reputation as a top player has already rubbed off on the squad, according to Neill.

“He was very welcoming and very excited, as were the players,” said the defender.

“He is someone we have all looked up to as a player an admired his ability on the pitch.

“He’s come in and said he would like to teach us a few things that have stood him in good stead in his career and he can’t wait to work with us because he likes the squad that he’s inherited.

“He is eager to get started, and we can’t wait to learn the game plans and other things he wants to teach us.”

As a player, most notably at Stamford Bridge between 1996-2003, Zola was a master of exciting, attacking football. The 42-year has promised to deliver an equally exciting style of play to Upton Park.

That is a far cry from predecessor Alan Curbishley, who was heavily criticised for taking a negative approach to matches.

And Neill, for one, can’t wait for the more eye-pleasing football to kick in, although he admits he might take some time to come to fruition.

“Mr Zola has already expressed his desire to play out from the back and play a more creative brand of football, a bit more patience and passing which we all want to play anyway,”said Neill.

“It’s just a case of getting us confident enough to do it.

“So it's going to be interesting. There’s a lot of work to be done on the training ground.”

Neill also insisted that the West Ham players owe former boss Curbishley a debt of gratitude – despite the pair having regular bust-ups.

The Australian international admitted he had a row with the 50-year-old after the Blackburn game, which proved to be Curbishley’s last match in charge.

But Neill – who also insisted that team spirit remained high in the squad despite the managerial transition – said: “We had arguments maybe once every four or five months and that just happened to be a very small one when we’d won.

“It was something and nothing and we apologised to each other five minutes after we spoke.

“People are trying to create an angle and make something up when there was very little in it.” He added: “We are aware of the frustrating and difficult circumstances that Alan Curbishley had.

“We don’t need to talk about why he went or the reasons – we can just be grateful for what he did for us.

“I think I talk about all of us from West Ham, including the fans, in wishing him well because he helped keep us up, had a difficult time last year with the squad and got us off to a good start this year.”

[Guardian-Series]

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