GIANFRANCO ZOLA has penned a new contract that will see him remain at the helm of West Ham until 2013.

The Italian manager signed a new four-year deal immediately after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Upton Park, and insisted he was 'delighted' to have committed himself to the Hammers.

“I am very pleased and grateful to the club for looking after me,” he said. “We have a project that we are taking forward with the coaching staff and with Gianluca Nani and Scott Duxbury. We are very much looking forward to working together and we believe very much in the project we are working on. We are going to try everything we can to make it happen.”

Zola also revealed that his assistant Steve Clarke would sign a similar deal 'in a few hours' – a deal that the club are expected to confirm next week.