WEST HAM manager Gianfranco Zola was disappointed with the lack of ‘quality’ from his players during the team’s goalless draw with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

The Hammers created very little in the way of goalscoring chances at Upton Park, and they could consider themselves fortunate to have emerged with a point after Rovers were denied a penalty when Mark Noble appeared to handle the ball and Jason Roberts fluffed an excellent opportunity after getting the better of James Tomkins.

For Zola the arrival of Benni McCarthy cannot come soon enough, especially given the news that young striker Zavon Hines is set to miss the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.

“I was expecting us to create a little more quality but we were not able to do that,” said the Italian. “The difficulties of the game, like the tension, caught us a little bit and we couldn’t express the quality that we needed to break them down. We knew they would come here to defend with a lot of players and so they did.

“When they come here to do that you need extra quality. You have to be good at taking your player on and putting your right ball in the box. I don’t think we played a good game, but considering the circumstances and looking at the other results we step up the table which is a good thing for us.

“Everyone knows it was an important game that we had to win. Sometimes when you are too nervous you can’t express yourself at the best and that was the case today.”