We Don't Have to Panic Just Yet, Says Zola

Unless West Ham start winning again, and soon, the smile with which Gianfranco Zola greets every eventuality will assume the grim character of the rictus worn by Jack Nicholson's Joker in the Batman movie. The two Premier League wins that accompanied Zola's appointment as manager have been overtaken by a run of five defeats in six matches, with the other drawn, which has left the team among those perilously poised above the bottom three.

For more than an hour on Saturday West Ham showed encouraging attacking form only for their defence to cave in as Everton continued their habit of late revivals by scoring three times in the final seven minutes. David Moyes's team, catatonic in the first half, awoke from their trance once West Ham had gone ahead just past the hour and owed their victory to Louis Saha, who having earlier appeared to believe that they also serve who only stand and wait, set up Everton's first goal and scored the other two.

Three successive wins have brought Everton within striking distance of the top six and they have still to produce a convincing performance over 90 minutes. "We got a result we didn't look like getting," Moyes admitted.

The sudden turnaround, which brought boos for West Ham at the end, could be traced back to the 18th minute when they lost one of their center-backs, Matthew Upson, with a dead leg, a condition not considered contagious although it eventually spread to the rest of the defence. West Ham stood and watched as Saha sauntered wide to gain possession and provide the precise center from which Joleon Lescott headed the scores level and Saha's goals, firm but hardly thunderous shots with the first taking a thin deflection, each followed basic errors by Julien Faubert.

For his first match in charge, the win against Newcastle, Zola had started with Faubert, essentially a winger, at right-back, which seemed a little odd but in view of the result did not provoke much comment. On Saturday, once Upson had departed with Lucas Neill moving to the middle of the back four, Faubert returned to full-back and confirmed his lack of suitability for the role. His failure to stop Leon Osman retaining possession near the byline led to Everton's second goal and a poor clearance enabled Tim Cahill to set up Saha for their third.

"It is very difficult to accept," said Zola, his smile accompanied by just the trace of a frown. "It is not the first time we've spoilt a good job in the last 10 minutes of a game. It is something that concerns me, obviously. We are aware of the situation we are in but we don't have to panic."

Not yet maybe but after West Ham have played Portsmouth and Sunderland they start December against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Aston Villa and, with their Icelandic owner's assets melting in the credit crunch, the January transfer window is likely to be more about selling than buying.

At least the efforts of an attack lacking a target in the absence of Dean Ashton and Carlton Cole brought Upton Park some cheer before gloom descended. Craig Bellamy and Freddie Sears combined intelligently at speed to create a series of chances, one of which saw Tim Howard deflect a rising shot from Sears against the crossbar, and Upson's injury brought on Jack Collison who put West Ham ahead after Scott Parker's astute backheel had created the opening.

All of which was forgotten by the final whistle.

Man of the match: Louis Saha (Everton)