WEST HAM boss Gianfranco Zola insists he hopes one day to build a 'monster' capable of challenging the 'Big Four' for a Champions League place.

The Guardian revealed this week that defender Matthew Upson believes the club have the ability to challenge for a top four place in seasons to come. And Zola has agreed, although he accepts it will take time for them to hit such heady heights.

“It would be something fantastic for the club,” said the Italian ahead of today's league clash with Aston Villa at Villa Park. “It's going to be very difficult to become a monster like Manchester United because we don't have the possibilities but we want to build something differently. Maybe it's going to be a longer-term project but one day we want to be competing with these teams.”

Zola revealed that the model that Arsene Wenger has built at Arsenal is one that he hopes to emulate, with a group of young players carefully selected and reared before being unleashed on the world stage. He has started well, with the likes of Jack Collison, Mark Noble, Junior Stanislas and Freddie Sears all stepping up and making their mark on the first team.

“I said straight away that Arsenal was one of the models that this club was looking up to. That's what we want to do. I think it's working okay at the moment and we're looking forward to improving. Certainly Arsenal is a team that I admire very much, so obviously to try and do what they do is something we would like to do.”