• Draw at Everton ‘lifts spirits and confidence’
• ‘What matters is what we do on the pitch,’ says manager

Gianfranco Zola said West Ham United had delivered the perfect response to their critics – inside and outside the club – after his relegation‑threatened team ended Everton’s seven-match winning run at Goodison Park and eased the pressure on their besieged manager.

The draw put the Hammers a point ahead of third-from-bottom Hull City, albeit having played a game more. Zola has endured a turbulent spell of public criticism from the West Ham co-owner David Sullivan.

“This is the right way to respond,” said Zola, who had questioned his future at the club following a defeat by Stoke City last weekend. “What matters is what we do on the pitch. The only way to respond is through football. We cannot stop the criticism. People want to give their opinions and judge us but we showed today that we are 100% focused on football.

“I’ve no other feelings apart from being pleased for my team. It is a difficult situation but we don’t want to stop fighting. That was what we said to the players before the game. All the team decided to fight until the end. No matter what, we’re going to fight until the end of the season and today was a clear demonstration of that because we never gave up.”

While the result at Goodison has not improved West Ham’s survival prospects dramatically – and while they will be without the influential Scott Parker for their next two matches, after the midfielder collected his 10th booking of the season – Zola believes the point gained will have a major influence on the morale of his squad.

Zola, who saw his striker Mido miss a first‑half penalty, said: “We are still very

• Squad has ‘massive respect’ for manager, says Scott Parker
• Mido targets extended stay at Upton Park

West Ham United’s players have rallied around the manager, Gianfranco Zola, and made it clear where their allegiances will lie if discord between him and the club’s new owners develops into a major split.

Zola and David Sullivan clashed this week when the Italian expressed dismay over the co-owner’s decision to announce swingeing pay cuts before Wednesday’s important Premier League game against Birmingham City at Upton Park.

Sullivan had also cast doubt on Zola’s ability to succeed as a manager, comparing him to the former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ossie Ardiles, who was deemed a failure, and suggesting he was “too nice” to take tough decisions. Though Sullivan subsequently declared that he was “100%” behind Zola and that the Italian was not in imminent danger of being dismissed, a feeling persists that West Ham’s new regime is contemplating replacing him in a bid to ensure Premier League survival.

West Ham’s players put forward a strong case for Zola on Wednesday by producing a tenacious display to beat Birmingham 2-0 and pull a point clear of the relegation zone. The Italian midfielder Alessandro Diamanti scored the first goal and celebrated, pointedly, by charging to hug his compatriot on the sidelines. Most of his team-mates did likewise.

“We are all behind the boss,” Diamanti said. “He works very hard and is a top guy and is always the one who takes responsibility when we don’t play well. He is always there for us, always encouraging us and always on our side. We don’t forget this, so I was extremely pleased to win and when I scored, my first thought was for the boss.”

Scott Parker echoed that sentiment. “Everyone has massive respect for the manager and that was clear to see,” said the midfielder. “We’re all pushing in the same direction. We just want him to do well. He’s a good man.”

Even the newly-arrived Egypt striker Mido insisted there was a powerful bond between players and manager. “We are fully behind the manager,” he said. “I can see how everyone loves him around the place. He’s a great character and the players wanted to fight for him.”

Parker said that Zola had spoken to his squad about Sullivan’s comments before the Birmingham game. “He let us know his feelings,” Parker said. “[Sullivan] knows the situation and if he feels it’s best to say what he’s saying, that’s it. Sometimes people say things to get a reaction, you could look at it as reverse psychology. But I don’t know if it was that.”

He also warned that West Ham must continue to improve if they are to remain clear of the relegation zone, and admitted that, irrespective of the manager, sometimes the players are too nice. “You know what you get from us: we’re a good passing side, we’re pretty,” he said . “But we’ve got to do the dirty stuff, the ugly stuff to build a platform.”

On Wednesday West Ham’s players were motivated to do that ugly stuff and that included Mido, whose work ethic was often questioned during previous spells at Tottenham, Wigan and Middlesbrough. The 26-year-old said that such questioning was unfair, and that he is determined to succeed at West Ham beyond his current three-month loan deal.

“I’ve never had a problem with my attitude. I have moved around a lot of clubs, that’s why this reputation came to me. But everywhere I’ve been I’ve worked hard in every training session, every game,” he said. “Look at Robbie Keane, he’s had so many clubs. Some players accept not playing and still getting paid. I’m not one of them. Hopefully this will be my last club. The last week I’ve been here I’ve been happy and hopefully at the end of the three months I will be here longer.”

West Ham UnitedDavid SullivanPremier LeaguePaul Doyleguardian.co.uk

Goals in either half from Alessandro Diamanti and Carlton Cole hoisted West Ham out of the relegation zone and eased the pressure, at least temporarily, on the club’s manager, Gianfranco Zola.

The West Ham co-owner David Sullivan had introduced a sub-plot to this game’s main theme – his side’s suitability for the relegation fight – by suggesting that the outcome would also reveal whether he or Zola had been correct about the effects of his decision to announce during the build-up that there will be swingeing pay-cuts at Upton Park. Zola, not a man who is easily stirred to protest, angrily denounced the timing of that declaration, saying it risked denting morale. “I hope it galvanises the team and the manager to produce a wonderful performance,” Sullivan replied. “If we win I have made my point, if we lose he has made his point.”

A point that Zola was probably more determined to disprove was Sullivan’s assertion that he might be “too nice” to thrive as a manager. Sullivan subsequently assured the Italian that he was not in imminent danger of being dismissed, but Zola nonetheless decided it was time to show he was capable of making cold-hearted decisions, dropping Mark Noble and Jack Collison, two youngsters in whom he had hitherto kept faith despite jaded-looking recent performances. As he sought to end a run of six games without a win, Zola also gave a first start to January signing Mido up front, and deployed fit-again Herita Ilunga at left-back, a position where West Ham had been vulnerable during the Congolese’s absence.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish had been forced to alter his line-up for the first time in 13 Premier League matches, the most notable of his three changes being the selection of the veteran striker Kevin Phillips for the injured Christian Benítez, but his team retained the compactness that has made them so difficult to infiltrate this season. West Ham began buoyantly, betraying no trace of concern about future earnings, but for all their earnest interplay they struggled to prise the visitors apart. Two tame efforts from Mido and a decent shot over the bar from Diamanti were all they mustered by way of goalscoring opportunities in the opening half an hour.

After absorbing early pressure Birmingham grew as an attacking force. Cameron Jerome should have put them in front in the 29th minute but shot wide after the ball broke to him at the edge of the box. That drew a response from the hosts, and Cole, after cleverly creating space for a shot in the box, cracked the ball just wide two minutes later.

Seconds before half-time the home side got the breakthrough they craved. The impressive Scott Parker pierced the visiting defence with a strong run before being brought down on the edge of the box by Scott Dann. Diamanti curled the free-kick into the top corner.

Diamanti was also responsible for the first threat of the second half, skipping past two opponents in the 55th minute before testing Joe Hart with a bobbling shot from 25 yards. Hart did not fail.

West Ham were brimming with confidence now, however, and added a deserved second goal in the 67th minute. Julien Faubert, venturing forward for the first time in the evening, created the chance with an overlapping run down the right and a cross to the near post that Cole met with a well-directed header.

Though West Ham spent most of the rest of the game seeking a third goal, they defended valiantly on the few occasions it was required. Matthew Upson blocked a close-range shot from Jerome in the 80th minute. That was the clearest opening Birmingham could forge as West Ham’s defence and midfield, in which Parker was outstanding, worked diligently to deny their opponents space to create. This alert, powerful performance represented a substantial improvement on listless recent outings. It seemed the home players were galvanised. Leave it to Zola and Sullivan to determine what by.

Premier LeagueWest Ham UnitedBirmingham CityPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk