West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola insists the Hammers are not jealous of the huge transfer funds available to some of their Barclays Premier League rivals.

While clubs such as Manchester City seem to have an open chequebook with which to entice the best talent available and ensure they have a strong chance of Premier League success this coming season, Zola must spend more carefully in the transfer market and develop the club's young talent.

As a result, the West Ham squad is brimming with promising players such as James Tomkins, Jack Collison and Frank Nouble.

Zola is confident that developing a team of talented youngsters can yield as much success as splashing the cash, although it will take longer.

The 43-year-old - who once played for Chelsea alongside City boss Mark Hughes - said: "There are ways to build up a team and Manchester City are using a much quicker one.

"They spend a lot of money as they have the financial resources behind them and can go and buy the best players.

"But I believe that in football you can achieve great results working in a different way. It will certainly take a lot longer, but you can still achieve results.

"With patience, working with the young players and trying to develop them, taking care of them and making them better can work. That is the kind of policy West Ham want to take and I am very committed to it.

"I strongly believe football is not only about money. I believe results can be achieved using other systems.

"I might be wrong or I might be right, we will see, but it is good to think that football is not just about how much money you can spend but also about how much support you can put into working with players and making them better."

While Zola is keen to look at players coming through the ranks at a club known as ‘The Academy', he is not totally opposed to bringing in quality from elsewhere.

The Italian is convinced Chile forward Luis Jimenez - known as ‘The Wizard' - will give West Ham something extra in attack in the coming season after joining on a year's loan from Inter Milan.

Zola said: "He will give us something extra, especially in the last 30 metres. That is the kind of player we have got.

"We are trying to spot what our weaknesses are. Certainly we need to improve up front and that is the majority of the job."