The Hammers ultimately won their battle to avoid the drop, but hopes were high for a much better season at the start of the campaign. Cole has admitted things did not go according to plan and the England striker has said sorry to the Upton Park faithful. He said: "The fans love the club so much and they don't deserve to go through what they've been through this year and for me personally, I'd like to apologise. "We haven't been good enough and hopefully next season we can put it right. "I represent West Ham. The players and the manager will tell you, we're all sorry things haven't worked out the way they were supposed to this season. "But we need to regroup and start again next season and hopefully we can. We are going to do better next season, that's the bottom line." Cole reckons Scott Parker is the only player at the club who can look back on this season without any regrets and know that his future is secure. "We all know that we haven't been good enough this season. Scott Parker's been brilliant, and he's my players' Player of the Year," he said. "Obviously he's the fans' favourite, so there's no way they're going to be looking to sell him. "But as for the rest I don't know what's going on. Everyone knows we're in financial difficulties and if the right offer comes in for anybody, you can't really turn it down. "That's football. I think at any club in the Premier League, if someone's offered a good amount for one of your players and you think it's worth it, you're going to take it." Cole also admits that Gianfranco Zola has had to cope with a lot in his first job in management. "I think he's (Zola) learnt a lot this season, about his squad and about the Premier League. Obviously, it's his first proper, big job," he continued. "And to come to West Ham is a massive ask because it's a massive club. I think he's handled the pressure quite well because I think we came in with a weakened squad at the beginning of the season. "We had to sell a few players we'd have liked to have kept, so he's had to deal with the cards he's been given, and sometimes that's not easy for an inexperienced manager. "It does trickle down to the players and it does affect us, you can't lie about that. It's the same in any job. If your top man, your boss, doesn't feel secure, then obviously it sends the wrong message out to the players, and sometimes you can see it on the pitch. "But we are professional footballers and we did the job, just, to stay up. Now we need to push on and forget about this season. It's a write-off."
