WEST HAM great Sir Trevor Brooking believes the club's new manager will want 'clarity' over the relationship with owners David Sullivan and David Gold.

Gianfranco Zola was sacked by the club this week and delivered a parting shot to the chairmen, saying he had been the victim of 'adverse comments from within the club' during his final weeks in charge.

The Italian was referring to Sullivan's comments that described the team as 'shambolic' in the wake of their defeat to Wolves back in March, as well as the recent revelation that he would be willing to sell any member of the current squad, except Scott Parker.

Potential candidates for the job such as Avram Grant and Mark Hughes are unlikely to tolerate such interference from the owners, and Brooking said a compromise would have to be reached between the chairmen and the new man.

"Every club is different and every owner is different," Brooking told the Guardian. "We'll have to see what happens over the summer. I'm sure there will be discussions about how it's going to operate. That's for the new person to try to get some clarity before they come in."

Brooking admitted he was sad to see the back of Zola.

"It's a shame he's gone, he tried hard at the club and did well in the first season, probably over-performed," he added. "But then we had the financial issues and players were sold. James Collins to Aston Villa in August was a big loss - we had quite a few clean sheets the season before and not too many this time.

"Everyone was disappointed to see Gianfranco go. The top priority was to stay up. West Ham fans are used to rollercoasters but it's going to be a challenge to whoever comes in."