Great support for training

Gianfranco Zola led an open training session for the first-team squad at the Boleyn Ground on a wet afternoon in east London.

Zola was joined by all of his coaching staff including Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen, Ludek Miklosko and Antonio Pintus as he put his squad through their paces ahead of Saturday's big Barclays Premier League game against Aston Villa. The several hundred fans who had turned out to the event were rewarded with an insight into how Zola and his staff prepare the team for matches.

At the Centenary Stand end, Keen took the strikers and midfielders for some attacking training involving passing and shooting, with youngsters such as Josh Payne and Junior Stanislas joining the more experienced players Luis Boa Morte and Diego Tristan in showing what they can do.

At the Bobby Moore Stand end, Zola was joined by Clarke as they worked with the defenders on dealing with crosses and long balls into the box. The three central defenders were joined by full-backs Walter Lopez, Lucas Neill and Herita Ilunga in a three-on-three exercise to try to clear the ball from danger

Meanwhile, Miklosko was hard at work with Robert Green, Jan Lastuvka and Peter Kurucz in the soggy conditions.

The session concluded with a keenly-contested game played on a half-size pitch, with Savio and Freddie Sears getting among the goals. The players were then given a rousing farewell as they left the pitch, with particular applause reserved for Zola, who responded by clapping back at the supporters seated in the Centenary Stand upper.

Mark Noble, Scott Parker, Carlton Cole and Radoslav Kovac were also in attendance at the Boleyn Ground to work on their own personal fitness programmes.