West Ham fired manager Gianfranco Zola on Tuesday after the club barely avoided relegation from the Premier League.
The 43-year-old responded by criticizing "adverse comments" from the club's owners, and said he had referred his dismissal to the League Managers' Association.
"I am extremely disappointed to be leaving West Ham United," Zola said in a statement released by the LMA. "Over recent weeks, I have been the subject of various adverse comments, from within the club, which have been widely reported in the media."
With the team losing games and in relegation trouble, co-owner David Sullivan put more pressure on Zola by publicly apologizing to West Ham fans for what he called "shambolic" and "pathetic" performances.
Although Zola was popular with the West Ham fans, the former Chelsea star - who took over at Upton Park in September 2008 - was unable to bring success to the club in his second season.
He signed a four-year contract in April 2009 that was supposed to keep him at the club until 2013, but was instead fired two days after the season.
Last season, Zola took West Ham to a ninth-place finish after struggling in 17th place in late December. This season, the Hammers wound up one place above the relegation zone
There had been strong speculation during the season that Zola would either be fired or would quit after several conflicts with Sullivan and David Gold, who bought a 50 percent interest in the club in January.
