Hughes urges Zamora to target England place

Fulham's new manager backs leading striker to improve on last season's impressive goal tally

(GETTY IMAGES)

Mark Hughes has promised to help Bobby Zamora break into the England side as quickly as possible.

Zamora enjoyed arguably the finest season of his career last term and was linked with a call-up to Fabio Capello's provisional squad for this summer's World Cup. An Achilles injury ended any hope the 29-year-old had of travelling to South Africa but the subsequent retirement of Emile Heskey has opened up one of England's striking places for next week's friendly against Hungary.

Hughes, who was officially unveiled as Fulham manager on Tuesday after signing a two-year contract last week, is excited about working with Zamora and hopes to see him gain senior international recognition soon.

"Let's hope so – it's down to Bobby," Hughes said. "We'll give him every opportunity to show what he can do. If he plays well for Fulham then he may get recognition at international level." Zamora scored 19 goals in all competitions last season, and Hughes challenged him to better that tally this term.

The former Manchester City manager said: "He had a great season. What Bobby needs to do is obviously build on that and become a consistent scorer for seasons to come. That's the demand that we will place on him.

"It can't be that you just have one standout season and you don't build on it. That wouldn't be acceptable for any player. Certainly, from our point of view, we will drive players on to achieve what they're capable of. Bobby is a player who can achieve as much as he wants."

Hughes has admitted signing a strike partner, or understudy, for Zamora is his top priority. Unlike the riches he had at his disposal at City, Hughes will have a tight budget. He is keen on bringing through young players during his time in charge but is also expecting to be given some money to spend.

"The Premier League is an expensive league," he said. "You have to invest in your playing staff. You have to sometimes be creative and make things happen to improve the quality if you can't just go out and blow people out of the market, which we obviously can't."

Hughes was introduced on Tuesday alongside the outspoken Fulham chairman, Mohamed al-Fayed. Hughes said: "He has got a great personality, as we've all seen. He has a direct input into the workings of the club.

"On a day-to-day basis, my contact with [chief executive] Alistair Mackintosh is really key, and I've been very impressed with Alistair and the plans he has for the club, and what he's actually put in place in his tenure here. That relationship is key when you're trying to move a club forward. If you can work well together then it's healthy for the club."

Hughes certainly had some difficulties in his relationship with City chief executive Garry Cook as his time at Eastlands drew to a close. Asked if he believed he would be happier at Fulham, he said: "I'm happy when I'm winning football games and when I have the support people around me that will enable me to perform.

"You have to have that support, that platform to enable you as a manager and as a group of players to have confidence that when you make decisions, they will be backed and they will give you that opportunity to be successful. If, after a period of time, I haven't achieved what I wanted to achieve then I'll know that myself. I'll probably know it a lot sooner than Fulham will."