Scott Parker believes West Ham's experience of last season will stand them in good stead as Gianfranco Zola plots a way clear of a long relegation battle.

The Hammers slipped back into the bottom three following a first defeat in four matches after going down 2-1 at home to Everton.

Zola admits he is at a loss to explain just how the Irons were beaten, having created more than enough chances to get something from the game.

Midfielder Parker, 29, feels the Hammers have enough quality to soon get the results their performances deserve - and can draw strength from the way the team rallied after Zola had initially struggled to find consistency following his appointment in mid-September 2008, losing five from six league games before eventually finishing a creditable ninth.

"It was not the best of results for us by any means and we did not deserve it, but there are lots of positives we can take from it," Parker said.

"We had a good win in the week over Aston Villa, and we wanted to build on that.

"This happened to us last year when the manager came in and we had a run of results which we did not really deserve.

"We can get out of it. We have got too much quality in this squad."

Parker maintained: "It is too early to say it is a relegation battle.

"The league is very tight this year, with everybody able to beat everybody.

"We know it is going to be a tough season, but we just have to pick up some points as quick as we can."

The Hammers, though, must now wait until after the international break to get back into action, when they travel to Hull - who dragged themselves out of the bottom three yesterday with a dramatic win over Stoke.

Parker admits, in the current situation, having two weeks without a game is not ideal.

He said: "At this present moment in time with the position we're in we would like to play, but that is the way it is.

"It would have been good to have won because then we would have gone up the table heading into the international break, but we just need to get on the training field and go get a result at Hull.

"Every game will be massive for us this season, that is just the way it is.

"It is not happening for us at the moment even though we're playing well."

West Ham have both goalkeeper Robert Green and defender Matthew Upson in the England squad.

However, striker Carlton Cole will not be making the trip to Qatar because of the hamstring strain which kept him out of yesterday's match.

The future of centre-forward Dean Ashton, meanwhile, remains uncertain.

Zola yesterday insisted he had not given up hope of seeing the £7million former Norwich and Crewe striker play again.

However, reports continue to suggest Ashton, 26 later this month, will be forced into early retirement because of his on-going ankle problem, the origins of which stem back to an injury suffered while on England duty during August 2006.