Clarke tipped to be Zola's assistant

Gianfranco Zola is expected to take charge of West Ham and he could appoint former Chelsea team-mate Steve Clarke as his assistant. Reports suggest Zola has agreed a three-year contract and he could offer Clarke the chance to leave Chelsea, where he is working as assistant to Luiz Felipe Scolari. West Ham advisor Kia Joorabchian said: "They are looking for assistants. Gianfranco has a very close relationship with one particular person, Steve Clarke. They are very close and they feel his experience in the Premier League, working under very big coaches at Chelsea, has given him a lot of experience. "He is more defensively-minded than Gianfranco so he brings good balance. I think that is what he is going for." Zola is currently working alongside another former Chelsea player, Pierluigi Casiraghi, as joint-coach of Italy's under-21s, but Casiraghi has denied suggestions that he could work as Zola's assistant at Upton Park. He said: "If Gianfranco decides to go to England, I will lose a great coach and more importantly, a true friend. But I don't want to leave this national team."

» More on this story... «

ITN | September 11, 2008

Tags:. .reports. .person. .feel. .could. .national