Striker Alessandro Diamanti is determined to help West Ham climb away from the Premier League drop zone.

Gianfranco Zola's side have slipped to 19th in the table with their only win of the season coming against Wolves at Molineux on the opening day back in August.

They have the chance to end that miserable run when Aston Villa visit Upton Park on Wednesday night where victory would see the East Londoners move out of the bottom three.

Diamanti, who joined the Hammers from Livorno in the summer, is not concerned by their current plight and has vowed to give his all in their quest to turn things around.

"I'm not worried by the start we've had, just sorry for the fans and my team-mates," he told the Daily Mail.

"Every day we train very hard and we give everything. The results have not been so good but I am confident we can do well."

Diamanti is keen to play down inevitable comparisons with Upton Park favourite Paolo Di Canio, but admits he would be delighted to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot.

He added: "Di Canio has been a great player. Everybody would like to have the same career. We share the same way to play football. We both give everything on the pitch for the team and the fans.

"I always play with passion. I am a passionate man. Not just about the goals but about the football. I try to put everything on to the field. At the moment, I am very sorry because I'd like to show more."

Diamanti's two goals so far for the Hammers have come from the penalty spot - against Liverpool and Arsenal - and he believes he can increase that tally, particularly as he is learning from Italian striking legend Zola.

The forward's initial impression on arriving in London came as something of a shock, but he is now managing to acclimatise himself to life in the capital.

He admitted: "I'd never been to London before in my life. I left Livorno on a sunny day and when I arrived here it was cloudy. But it's OK, it doesn't rain so much and it's not so cold.

"The decision to come was half private and half a career choice. My wife is an international woman. She comes from Taiwan and I wanted to make a change in my life and have a different experience.

"Also, I wanted to improve my skills as a player and improve on the pitch. I'm learning a lot from Gianfranco Zola, he gives me a lot of advice, especially on free-kicks and shooting.

"He was one of the greatest ever in Italian football and it's a great honour to play for him."