Zola takes his West Ham side to Eastlands on Monday to pit his wits against his former Chelsea team-mate, who spent more than £100million in the last transfer window alone and has splashed around £230million in total in a bid to break into the top four in the Barclays Premier League.

By contrast, Zola has had to bide his time and rely on picking up out-of-contract players such as striker Guillermo Franco from Villarreal, who could make his debut against City.

Zola said: "I don't envy anybody. We are not a club who can spend £20million on a player but we are solid. We have stability and can look forward with a positive attitude.

"Franco is going to be important for us. He has got experience and presence on the pitch. He will be a very good buy for us."

West Ham have not won since the first day of the season and have gleaned only four points from five matches, but Zola remains confident.

He said: "We know we are not getting the points we should but we are playing well and improving. I'm the first to say that points-wise we are not doing great but I am not working just on three points.

"I am working on a project. I see the big picture. It is just a matter of time before we start picking up points with consistency."

Zola is hopeful England defender Matthew Upson will have recovered from a calf injury for Monday night's match while Luis Jimenez, who had been nursing a thigh strain, also trained this afternoon.

Midfielder Valon Behrami, however, is doubtful with the back injury he suffered in last week's defeat against Liverpool.

Zola will need to find a way of stopping former West Ham striker Craig Bellamy, who scored two goals in the Manchester derby last weekend when City lost 4-3 to United in the dying seconds.

"It will be massive for Bellamy," said Zola. "He did well for me. He would have been a big help for us but he wanted to go for another experience and I respected that. He will be up for it but hopefully we will find a way to look after him.

"I admired the determination and the resilience of Manchester United in the derby. With 10 seconds to go they believed they could score. I have only admiration for the manager and the players.

"But I also have a lot of admiration for Manchester City. They have a lot of talent. I respect them."

Zola also agrees with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger that Sol Campbell, who quit Notts County this week, could still do a job in the Premier League.

"It would depend on whether you needed him but he's a good player with experience and he's got everything," said Zola. "If I was in need of an experienced player, I would think of him."