Zola praises the fans as 4,000 head for the Riverside

Hammer time: Gianfranco Zola says that West Ham will do all that they can to progress to the next round of the FA Cup
Ken Dyer13 April 2012

West Ham fans could make up almost a quarter of the crowd at the Riverside tonight for the fifth-round FA Cup replay against Middlesbrough.

The club are paying for around 30 coaches to take supporters north and hope to have more than 4,000 fans roaring them on as they chase a quarter-final tie at Everton.

"The fans have always been with us and to them goes my appreciation," said West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola. "I am very thankful to them and it is so important to see them in big numbers when the players come onto the pitch."

Zola, who won the FA Cup twice as a player with Chelsea, is desperate to do well in this season's competition as a first-time manager.

"I know what the cup means to everyone and we will do everything we can to go through," said Zola.

After eight matches unbeaten, West Ham have now picked up just one point from their last three games, losing 2-1 at Bolton on Saturday.

However, Zola is not panicking and said: "It didn't feel like a defeat at Bolton because we played a good match and confidence is still strong."

Zola has had his players practising penalties this week in case the tie cannot be decided in open play.

"We are prepared," he said.

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