Gianfranco Zola has backed Diego Tristan to fire West Ham United to Premier League victory over Sunderland.
The striker earned an assist in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park a fortnight ago, setting up Mark Noble with a perfectly weighted pass that the England Under-21 midfielder converted with a neat finish.
Tristan's performance earned praise from manager Zola, who believes the Spanish international can shine in the absence of Carlton Cole, who will miss this weekend's visit of the Black Cats with a groin injury.
"Diego Tristan was very good in the last game we played against Blackburn," said Zola. "The way he played the other day, he has a very good chance to score. I'm sure that Diego Tristan will do a good job."
Tristan, who scored a dramatic late winner in the 2-1 Premier League victory over Stoke City on 28 December, has a fine goalscoring pedigree, having been coveted by some of Europe's biggest clubs during his time with La Liga club Deportivo La Coruna.
Now 33, Tristan learned his trade from fellow Spanish international strikers Alfonso and Pier at Real Betis Balompie. Zola, meanwhile, was the protégé of another Diego - Maradona - during his formative years at Italian club Napoli.
At the San Paolo, the West Ham manager would clean the boots of the 1986 World Cup-winning captain and current Argentina coach, but Zola admits the duties of young players have changed since he was a teenager starting out at local side Nuorese in the mid-1980s.
"When I was a young player I used to clean the boots as they said when you are older somebody will clean for you, but now I am older I am still cleaning the boots! I'm still waiting for my moment!
"I started as an apprentice as a team in third division in Sardinia. I not only used to clean one pair, I used to clean all of them so I had to clean more than one. It was good, a good lesson for me.
"For Maradona I would clean the boots even now! It's good as the game is not only about going out and scoring goals. Preparation and education are as important as scoring goals, as is playing football in the right way. That's why I'm very confident as if you play the game in the right way, then you've got a lot of chance to achieve what you want to achieve even if you have a lot of difficulties."