Gianfranco Zola thrown lifeline by Scott Parker's West Ham winner

The fallout from West Ham United's latest exercise in brinkmanship is likely to last well into the summer and the win against Wigan Athletic which brought them to the point of safety will not have dampened the speculation concerning the future of the squad in general and the manager, Gianfranco Zola, in particular. But at least the raucous roars that greeted Scott Parker's wonderful winner and the final whistle a little later were not accompanied by the dissenting voices which three seasons ago queried the right of Carlos Tevez to be on the field at Old Trafford to score the goal that kept West Ham in the Premier League, as well as insisting that the club should have been deducted points rather than fined for breaking league regulations in signing him. The performance on Saturday was legit even if, by and large, it was not very good. Parker's goal and the first-half save by Robert Green, who pushed a long, rising shot from James McCarthy on to the crossbar which would have given Wigan a 2-0 lead, shone like diamonds in a dung heap. Whereas Roberto Martínez's players passed and moved with skill and imagination West Ham were often reduced to humping vague long balls towards Carlton Cole, who was carrying a knee injury. Yet whatever they lacked in aptitude West Ham made up for it in attitude and a sense of opportunism which enabled them to grab the chances when they came. As Parker said: "When you're down where we are in the league the way you play is the last thing you worry about. Three points are all that matter." The way Parker ran to the dugout to hug Zola after scoring the decisive goal suggested that he wanted to make a point to the club's latest owners about giving the manager another chance. Zola's position has appeared precarious ever since one of the twosome, David Sullivan, went public in his criticism of the team when West Ham lost six matches in succession and seemed to be in freefall. At the time there were suggestions that Zola was considering his future although after Saturday's victory he insisted this had not been the case. "It was never my intention to leave the place in the situation we were in," he said. "Everybody was down and in those moments feeling the players were behind me with their fighting spirit helped. There has been a lot of stick but we have always been together." Not that being popular with the players is necessarily a recommendation for success in football management. Zola's bosses, Sullivan and David Gold, kept the financial balls in the air at St Andrew's while Birmingham City bounced between the top two divisions and will presumably seek to re-establish West Ham on a sounder business footing than has been the case in recent seasons while finding someone to run the team who can consistently get the best out of what he has got. One name mentioned is Avram Grant, for whom life anywhere else would have to be easier than Portsmouth. Upton Park feared it would again be entertaining Portsmouth next season when Jonathan Spector deflected a corner from Ben Watson into his own net in the fourth minute, the American having already scored an own goal for Wigan in 2006. Gary Caldwell's goalline clearance to keep out a shot from Cole, who had left Chris Kirkland needing stitches in a facial wound after the goalkeeper had dived at the striker's feet, did nothing to ease the angst. Green's save from McCarthy on the half-hour proved to be a pivotal moment because in the next minute Cole turned past a hesitant Mario Melchiot before providing the low cross from which Araujo Ilan equalised. Radoslav Kovac then put West Ham in front in first-half stoppage time, following up to head in after Kirkland had kept out Mark Noble's free-kick, and although Hugo Rodallega brought the scores level early in the second half, nudging the ball over the line after Victor Moses had glanced on another corner from Watson, Parker's piece, a superb curling shot from 25 yards, all but kept Premier League football at Upton Park even if it does not keep Zola in his job.