Bobby's Brighton Return

Bobby Zamora has fond memories of his time spent on the South Coast with Saturday's opponents Birghton. During his three year spell at the Withdean Stadium he forged an impressive goalscoring reputation with 87 strikes in 131 games.

With the Seagulls fighting for their lives in the Championship drop zone, it's going to be a day of mixed emotions for Bobby. But the former South Coast hero insists any sentiment will wait until after the game.

"They're in a real dogfight down at the bottom and both teams are desperate for the points," he said. "I had some of the best years of my life at Brighton and I've still got a lot of friends down there.

"I really hope they survive relegation and it'll be a big day for me going back there. But first and foremost I've got to do what I can to help West Ham get another three points.

"It's a huge game for us, but hopefully we can give another good performance and win another important three points."

After Bobby's seventh goal of the season had secured an all-important 1-0 win over Stoke on Tuesday, the striker thanked the Hammers fans for their backing of late.

"The fans have been really good to me recently," he said after the West Ham faithful had echoed his name around the Britannia Stadium. "They've been getting behind me and the team and their support really does make the difference.

"It was great to get the winner for them against Stoke. They're backing us all the way and that was a really important three points for the Club.

"It was a tough game. Stoke are a good side and they defended really well. We had to keep plugging away, but 90 minutes is a long time and we stuck at it, kept going and thankfully I was in the right place at the right time to tuck away the goal.

"I was delighted to score the winner, but even more so with the three points. It was our game in hand over the teams above us and we really needed the win."

Bobby has shown something of a penchant for impacting games from the bench of late. Indeed, four of his seven League goals have come as a substitute this season - just as well because he's started 18 of his 31 Championship appearances this season from the sidelines.

But, while not content just to be a super-sub, Bobby is happy to make a contribution wherever and however he can.

"Whenever I come on I just want to do the best I can," he admitted. "It's difficult coming on for the final quarter of an hour. It's tough to pick up the pace of the game and it means you're trying really hard to make an impression.

"But I'm getting more used to coming off the bench now and trying to have an impact on the game, giving the team some fresh legs up front.

"As time went on against Stoke we knew that we needed a goal, but it wasn't a case of getting anxious on the bench. The manager just told me to go out, do what I've been doing recently and put pressure on them at the back.

"That's what I did and thankfully it paid off with the goal, and also the three points."