THE need for more firepower in the West Ham front line was again evident during the 1-0 defeat to Napoli at the weekend.

Much has been made of Gianfranco Zola's pursuit of a striker, with Carlton Cole the only fit, recognised goalscorer in the squad.

The Hammers have been linked with Barcelona's Eidur Gudjohnsen and Bayern Munich's Italy forward Luca Toni over the summer, although the only capture in that position has been 17-year-old Frank Nouble from Chelsea.

Ahead of the season opener away at Wolverhapton Wanderers this Saturday, Zola said: “Everybody knows that the forward line is a position that we need a little bit more cover for.

“But I rely on the club and they are trying to strengthen the team. Maybe this week something will happen.

“Certainly Toni is a good player, but I don't know if he will be a West Ham player in the future. He's a good player, but right now I can't say anything, but we will see what happens.”

A cutting edge was all that was missing for West Ham at the weekend, as they controlled long periods of the Bobby Moore cup match against Italian Serie A side SSC Napoli before going down 1-0.

And with Cole again likely to spearhead the attack at Molineux on Saturday, Zola said he was delighted with the performances of last season's top scorer.

He said: “Carlton Cole is no surprise any more for me.

“Some of the bits he does are unbelievable. He is improving day by day, his confidence, his presence, his perception. I'm very pleased by his performance.”

He was, however, unable to give a return date for striker Dean Ashton, who, despite being out for almost a year, has been linked with a move away from the club.

Zola said: “All I can say is that he is a player that I would love to have in my side.

“Can you imagine the impact of having a player like him in the team?

He's a big player. He is one of the players I would have loved to play with.”