The financial problems of Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson have been well documented of late, but Zola insists the club's star players will not be sold off in an attempt to raise funds.

Gudmundsson has reportedly lost £230million of his personal fortune as a result of the economic crisis and was axed as chairman of Landsbanki.

He suffered a further blow when Samson Holdings, another company he owns, also filed for administration, and reports have surfaced that he may have to sell the east London club.

Any sales will be made for footballing reasons only though, according to Zola.

"When we have all the players back fit we will have to make some decisions," said Zola.

"For me, it's not worth having 26 or 24 players and having some players only training and not playing. It's not good for them or for us.

"So yes, we will probably be selling some players but we'll decide only when I have the full squad training and then I can make my decision.

"We will not be selling our best players. The players who are not playing here regularly we will give them the possibility of playing a little bit more or going somewhere else. But we won't be selling our best players."

Zola revealed striker Carlton Cole is close to agreeing a new five-year contract, which he believes underlines West Ham's intentions to build and maintain a strong squad.

"The club intends to keep and to sign good players who we think have a good future at the club," added Zola.

Meanwhile, defender Matthew Upson said scoring for England in Wednesday's friendly international win over Germany realised a childhood dream.

Upson, 29, has long played second fiddle to John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the national side but impressed in the latter's place and capped a good performance with his first England goal.

"It's a great feeling to score because it's something I've pictured doing since I was a kid," he said.

"It was a really great evening. I enjoyed the game and the whole team played well to get the result. It was a special moment for me."

Upson marshalled the Hammers defence to their first clean sheet in 27 games in last weekend's goalless draw at Portsmouth and he is hoping to build on that tomorrow at Sunderland.

"Last week was a solid performance," he added. "Because we are away from home at Sunderland we will be defending a lot more but perhaps hitting teams on the break will suit us.

"Maybe we can get in behind them as we have the pace with the boys up front and hopefully get some goals from that.

"Every place you go is tough but the result is very important."