Jack Collison is sitting in the office of a swanky public relations firm in Clerkenwell, surrounded by more polished steel and glass than you would find in the average airport terminal, waiting to fulfil his duties as a 'brand ambassador' for the new Fifa 10 video game.

It is, in many ways, a natural habitat for the commercially-conscious modern footballer, yet Collison is young and open enough not to be entirely on-message.

"I like the game and we have sessions at the West Ham training ground which can get pretty competitive," he reflected. Then, suddenly, a frown creases his brow. "But my character is nowhere near the best player in the game. I might have to have words. I'm not having that..."  

Collison is in a breezy mood, although given events in east London this season, the cynics would suggest that a more appropriate game for him to endorse would be 'Doom'.

West Ham are a club in meltdown. Their long-term future is still shrouded in uncertainty as Straumur, the stricken Icelandic bank which owns them, strives desperately to find new investment. Failure to do so is likely to lead to yet more sales when the transfer window reopens - a situation they can ill afford, having already cashed in on 10 senior players since June 2008.

All this could be shrugged off if Gianfranco Zola's side were defying the odds on the field; instead, they are win-less since the first weekend - when they took advantage of some opening-day nerves from newly-promoted Wolves - and could be rooted to the foot of the table by the time they walk out for Sunday's tussle with Arsenal.

In the circumstances, it is remarkable that anyone at the club's Chadwell Heath training base can raise a smile. But Collison (left) is perkiness personified, while even Zola is apparently maintaining a chirpy air, despite being in the midst of his first sustained slump since taking charge last October.

"He's the same as always - enthusiastic, cheerful, hard-working," Collison said. "He comes in every day with a smile on his face and he gets a kick out of trying to improve us as a team. That's all you can ask for as a manager, really.

 "He knows when he has to be hard on us, when we haven't played well or whatever, and he knows when he has to tell it how it is. There are other times when he's good at motivating us and making sure we keep our heads up. He hasn't let things get to him."

There is also no suggestion that the squad's faith in Zola has evaporated, and Collison reverts to wide-eyed teenage type as he recalls the days he spent admiring the former Chelsea striker's talents as a boy.

"It helps that he was as good a player as he was - all the lads respect him so much, we have to take on board what he is saying.  

"I watched him a few times at Stamford Bridge as a lot of my family are Chelsea fans. It was a privilege to see somebody who was such a genius. I idolised him so to have the opportunity to work with him now is a bit of a dream.

"I remember when he first walked in as manager, I was completely in awe of him - I didn't know what to say. I just wanted to work that bit harder because I wanted to impress him."

 "He's very approachable, which is great to have, particularly in the situation we're in. He's very hands-on which is what we need right now."

Zola's ability to man-manage will be fundamental to whether West Ham can extricate themselves from their crisis. His squad might be studded with a few old pros but they are equally reliant on ex-academy greenhorns such as Collison, Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines and James Tomkins - all aged 21 or under.

Not that the latest crop of bright young things to emerge from Tony Carr's much-vaunted academy appear to be buckling under the strain.

"We're okay - we're a bit of a gang and tend to spend a lot of time together off the pitch," Collison said, with a wry grin. "We're all at a similar stage in our lives, moving out of home for the first time and trying to find places of our own. It's nice to have that off-field bond because it makes the spirit on the field stronger as well."

West Ham will need it, otherwise even Zola's smile will begin to fade.

Jack Collison is a brand ambassador for EA Sports' FIFA 10, which is available now on all formats. For further information visit easports.co.uk/fifa