Last season, with the Hammers pushing for European qualification, Zola had the likes of James Tomkins, Junior Stanislas and Jack Collison in the team, with hopes of them emulating the golden generation at Upton Park when Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole were nurtured.

Following the club being taken over by asset management company CB Holding, with chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and vice-chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson resigning from the board, fans have been assured there will be investment in players. Zola, however, is also impressed with his youngsters.

"I believe that in football you can also achieve great results working with a different way," he said.

"It will certainly take longer but you can still achieve results working with young players, trying to develop them, taking care of them and making them better.

"That is the kind of policy that West Ham want to take and I am very committed to it. I strongly believe that football is not only about money.

"I believe that there are teams that can achieve good results using other systems. I hope it is going to be like this - it is good to see football is not just about how much money you can spend but is also about how much effort you can put into working with players and making them better. That is the West Ham policy."

Zola has secured the signing of Luis Jimenez from Inter Milan on a season-long loan, with the Chilean set to bolster his attacking options and work closely with striker Carlton Cole.

Peter Kurucz, Jack Lampe and Frank Nouble have also arrived but they are youngsters for the future, rather than players who are expected to make an instant impact.

Zola could consider the players returning from injury as new signings, as he was without them for long periods last season.

Valon Behrami has been out of action since suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in March.

At that time he was ruled out until September at the earliest but he has been making good progress in his recovery.

"The good news is he has been working on the pitch, he has been running and kicking the ball so he is looking very good," Zola added.

Scott Parker was suffering from a groin problem towards the back end of the last campaign but he has returned in pre-season.

He said: "Pre-season has been quite difficult for me as I still had the problem I had last year and only got over it two weeks before I came back.

"As a professional athlete I'm not sure you're ever 100% fit but that's the way it is. I feel fine and as good as I can be I just hope to get fit now and push on."

Kieron Dyer is also looking for match fitness after returning from a serious injury.

"Having a pre-season, especially one like this where we have worked really hard, gives you a base," Dyer said. "Fingers crossed I get a few more matches in and will be able to achieve the main target of being in top condition come August 15, when the season starts."

Dyer is relishing the prospect of a partnership with Parker.

He added: "He won Hammer of the Year last season, that's how important he is to our team."