Zola has lost control – Ilan

(GSM) – West Ham’s Brazilian striker Ilan has astonishingly claimed that manager Gianfranco Zola has ‘lost control’ of the team. The striker, who has scored two goals in the Hammers’ last two games, says that the Italian manager has lost control and will not be able to win the players back.

Ilan had arrived on a short-term deal from St Etienne in January but is not planning on staying at Upton Park beyond the end of the current season.

“I don’t want to say bad things about Zola because he is a good person, but you know sometimes a good person working in football doesn’t work,” Ilan told the News of the World.

“If you give your players a lot of freedom, they will not obey you anymore.

“That is what is happening now at West Ham, especially with players who speak Italian.

“Zola has lost control of the team and it is impossible for him to recover it.”

Ilan is also unhappy with the position he is played in by Zola and has taken an unlikely swipe on Premier League managers

“Zola never uses me in my position as a centre forward,” he said.

“He puts me out on the flanks or even as a second forward.

“He and the other coaches in the Premier League have an obsession with putting the players in positions different to the one they are used to.”