David Moyes' side, who are the visitors to Upton Park tomorrow, have enjoyed plenty of UEFA Cup nights in recent years.

The Toffees also beat the odds in 2005 to finish fourth in the Barclays Premier League, which gave them the chance of Champions League action.

Moyes' men could not qualify for the group stage on that occasion but Zola made no secret of his desire to lift the Hammers up to that level.

He said: "We are working towards that. We want this team one day to play European games, hopefully in the Champions League. We come to training every morning with that in mind.

"That is why I don't really look at the short term. Our work is to make the team play a certain way in order one day to be able to compete at a high level.

"Last year Everton did very well and they are certainly a very good team. I like the manager, who has done a great job, and they can be one of the examples we can use - a small team that has got good results. We are going to try to emulate that."

A 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough last week ended a four-game losing streak and Zola is hopeful of recording a first win since their 2-1 success at Fulham on September 27.

He said: "I would be worried if my team was playing badly or not creating chances. We played Middlesbrough after losing four games but we looked very confident on the pitch.

"The players are in control and it is just a matter of time. I am not worried about this. Obviously we need to improve and we are are working on that but I am confident we will soon be talking about West Ham in a different way."

The Hammers have also extended an invitation to United States president-elect Barack Obama to attend a match at Upton Park when he is next in London.

The Democrat election winner is believed to have chosen West Ham as his favourite soccer team when visiting half-sister Auma, who lives in the south of England, around five years ago.

Zola made it clear he would be delighted to welcome Obama but did not expect to see him just yet.

He said: "It would be a pleasure. If he wants to come over and see a game here we would be very pleased to have him as a fan but I think he might be a bit busy very soon."

Midfielder Scott Parker returns from a calf injury but Dean Ashton, Mark Noble and Valon Behrami are all still sidelined by injury and Carlton Cole is serving the last game of a three-match ban.

Zola may drop youthful duo Jack Collison and Freddie Sears, who both started at Middlesbrough, but declared he was delighted with their progress anyway.

He said: "It is an indication to me that the job we are doing here is good because they are two young players who came in and looked like they had been there for a long time."