Gianfranco Zola to consider future as West Ham boss
Zola may not be in charge of West Ham after the weekend
Gianfranco Zola said he will consider his position as West Ham boss after his side lost a sixth straight match on Saturday, beaten 1-0 at home to Stoke.
Zola told BBC Sport: "It is very painful and I would have to think a lot about how the situation stands.
"I need to find out what is the problem - and if the problem is me. I will have to think about that overnight.
"I don't think it's that the players are not trying. The bottom line is to see whether I can help them or not."
West Ham co-owner David Gold, who had backed the manager before the game, said he remained "100%" behind Zola.
Ricardo Fuller scored the winner to leave West Ham above the relegation zone only on goal difference - and the Londoners are now on their worst losing run in the top flight in 43 years.
Initially, Zola said his thoughts were only on "the game today and how we can sort it out".
"We tried very hard, it is very disappointing and painful for me," he added. "We are in a difficult situation. We were pressing hard, expending a lot of energy and the goal flattened us a little bit.
"It's tough. I thought in the first half we did quite well, it was close, Mido had a great chance. It was a balanced game. Fuller changed the game."
The result leaves West Ham level on points with Hull but having played a game more than the Tigers, who beat Fulham on Saturday to greatly improve their chances of climbing out of the drop zone.
West Ham's humbling 3-1 defeat by Wolves on Tuesday had left Zola under tremendous pressure, with co-owner David Sullivan heavily criticising the team on the club's website.
Zola felt his side gave a better performance than against Wolves but could not hide his despair at the loss.
"I told them I was much more pleased than I was on Tuesday. Better shape and teamwork. It is just a pity," he said.
"Everything is important. The players need to be confident and to be helped, so we can improve the situation.
"It's about confidence and believing in themselves. We have to come though these tough moments. I have total faith that players will react in the right way.
"It's going to be tough but we are still out of the bottom three."
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