Team news

West Ham left-back Herita Ilunga will miss the Premier League clash with Tottenham at Upton Park.

Ilunga has a jaw injury and is expected to be replaced by Jonathan Spector, while James Tomkins returns from a foot problem.

West Ham are without long-term absentees Dean Ashton (ankle), Luis Boa Morte (knee) and Valon Behrami (ankle).

Gianfranco Zola is backing Tottenham to challenge the top four this season.

Zola is prepared for a difficult afternoon on at Upton Park after claiming Spurs' summer transfer budget has given them a chance of figuring in the title race.

"I've been very impressed with Tottenham, they are a wonderful team," said the Hammers boss.

"In my opinion they are as good as the top four and they will certainly be competing with them until the end of the season.

"But don't forget that they have spent #60million this summer.

"I have to congratulate Harry Redknapp, he has done a wonderful, wonderful job.

"I watched them against Liverpool live last weekend and I was impressed. It is a tough game for us.

"They have improved their quality - when you spend money it's the quality of the players that you improve.

"But the organisation of the team has been excellent and there seems to be a good spirit there." Redknapp has four international strikers at his disposal while West Ham only have Carlton Cole to lead the line, a situation they are seeking to rectify in the transfer window.

For all Spurs' playing riches, however, Zola would not exchange any of the clubs' players.

"I'm not jealous of Harry Redknapp. I do respect and admire him, he had done a great job, but I wouldn't change my team with any other team," he said.

"To make it clear I wouldn't even change my team with Real Madrid or Barcelona - maybe! I like my players and I trust them.

"They are improving, working hard and doing everything to be successful. I admire these qualities in players." Ledley King is back in the Tottenham squad after resting his knee in the midweek win over Hull.

Jonathan Woodgate (groin) and Michael Dawson (Achilles) are still ruled out, along with Jermaine Jenas (calf).

Left-back Gareth Bale has a foot problem, while Carlo Cudicini will start in goal as Heurelho Gomes has a thigh injury.

Meanwhile, Redknapp describes the atmosphere at White Hart Lane as like "night and day" when comparing his current situation to when he first arrived.

Redknapp was appointed last October and inherited a squad where five professionals were not given squad numbers and chairman Daniel Levy had noticed a lack of discipline under Juande Ramos, culminating in three red cards in the Spaniard's final two matches in charge.

After steering the club away from relegation trouble and within range of European qualification, Redknapp started his first full season at Spurs with victories over Liverpool and Hull.

"It's like night and day," he said. "It's a much different feel to when I was first here.

"When I came here there were players who weren't part of it. They were isolated and sent to one side. That doesn't help. Unless someone really takes a liberty or is a nuisance, that isn't my style to send people training with the youth team. I couldn't do that.

"The attitude now is that we are all in it together. Some are disappointed they are not playing but they are all pulling together and if they stick together we'll be in for a good season." Redknapp has played down suggestions of his side challenging the top four, but said: "This is a team that is improving and there is still a long way to go.

"We've got good players here and I think we can give anyone a game - we showed that last year. We beat Chelsea last year fair and square, we were playing well at Old Trafford before losing. We're stronger this year." Redknapp is expected to start in-form striker Jermain Defoe against his former club.

Defoe was widely tipped to be partnering Peter Crouch this season but Robbie Keane has staked his claim for a regular spot with his first two performances.

"Robbie comes deep and pops up everywhere," Redknapp said. "At the start of the Hull game he was on the ball with 15 touches in the first five minutes. Robbie, Robbie, Robbie.

Hull 1-0 Bolton

Last modified 11:24 30/12/09

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Phil Brown has had to stomach a summer of rejections from a host of high-profile strikers, but the Hull City manager might have finally found a pair of forwards with the appetite for the challenge ahead.

Michael Owen, Fraizer Campbell, Bobby Zamora and Alvaro Negredo were all offered the chance to join the Tigers but decided against it.

Few could blame them following the Tigers woeful finish to last season, coupled with successive defeats in their opening games of this one.

Being snubbed might just prove to be a blessing in disguise, however, judging by the impressive performances of Jozy Altidore and Kamel Ghilas.

This duo have arrived on Humberside under the radar and are unknowns in the Premier League, but the unlikely double act are already the talk of Hull after inspiring Brown’s men to their first home win since before Christmas.

Altidore and match-winner Ghilas are certainly not peas in a pod considering their respective journeys to Hull.

Algerian international Ghilas could have been playing for Blackburn this season, but failed a medical at Ewood Park.

Brown had no doubts about his fitness, however and signed him from Celta Vigo in a £1.7m deal.

Altidore, meanwhile, has joined the Tigers on a 12-month loan deal from Villarreal but getting him onto the pitch has proved quite a headache for Brown, who is poised to make a double signing this week.

He was detained in America following routine tests for swine flu after being in contact with international team-mate Landon Donovan following a friendly in Mexico.

Visa problems made things worse before he finally jetted into London from New York on Friday and Tigers chairman Paul Duffen laid on a helicopter to fly him on to Hull.

He started on the bench but went on after the break to set-up Ghilas for the winning goal on 61 minutes, 28 seconds after joining the action.

Both became instant heroes with home fans and the duo looked to have struck-up an unlikely partnership that could make Brown forget about his frustrating close season.

Altidore, who has scored seven goals in 17 appearances for the USA, cost Villarreal $8m from New York Red Bulls last year but could make a permanent move to the Tigers should he continue to impress.

He said: “The last 48 hours? Let’s see. Airport terminals, swine flu scares, babies crying on the plane, it’s all been a little bit crazy.

“But it was all about getting here and contributing to the team as much as possible.

“It’s been very frustrating not being able to do anything proper for the last two weeks but I’m finally here.

“I was running around embassies, listening to hearings, running around with passport photos, running when I can on the treadmill. I was keeping in touch with team-mates the best I could and tweeting all my frustrations.

“I was losing faith. I thought it was all going to be for nothing, but a lot of people worked their tails off to bring me here, the lawyers, chairman, gaffer, they all did a great job trying to get me here and I appreciate it.

“This is what I’ve been waiting for - a chance to prove my worth.

“This is a big chance for me and I want to make sure I do well and not slack off or be distracted by stupid things.

I’m here to play football and that’s the most important thing.

“It was good to set up the goal so early but Kamel is a big player, he’s a big spark. You’re going to see a lot of good things from him.”

This was the Tigers’ first home win since before Christmas, let alone this season and a relieved Brown said: “Jozy’s a bright kid but the bottom line is that he’s hungry. He’s a 19-year-old who’s come on and helped to win us the game. We’ve hit snag after snag after snag but he’s here now.

“He’s a strong, robust striker who has an attitude towards running at you. He looks at the whites of your eyes and he wants to put you under pressure and ask you questions.

“Strikers who do that are priceless and he brings something to us that we haven’t got.

“We nearly missed out on Kamel because we lost a European scout to Blackburn and they’d been watching him as well.

“Fortunately for us he failed a fitness test with them but he didn’t look unfit to me, he looked very sharp. You have to go through a lot to pass a fitness test with Blackburn under Sam (Allardyce) but that didn’t put me off at all.

“He’s adamant that he wants to go to university to learn the language and when you’ve got commitment from players like that, you can’t fail.”

A dismal game saw Bolton create the best chances but fail to take them before Ghilas pounced, leaving the Trotters without a point so far and 'Megson Out' chants ringing in the manager’s ears after just two games played.

Megson said: “It’s difficult to take, but it’s our own fault and no-one else's.

“The players have been talking about it (the fans’ chants) in the dressing room and we have to deal with it.

“It’s new to quite a few of them and it’s not new to quite a lot of us. We’ve dealt with it before and we’ll deal with it again.

“We circle the wagons and the spirit, not just in the dressing room or the football side of the club, but the whole gamut of Bolton Wanderers is very, very good. We sometimes have problems that we have to cope with but cope with them we will.”