• Cole hopes to win place in England’s World Cup squad
• ‘I have steel, I’ve got some balls,’ insists Chelsea midfielder
Joe Cole has defended himself from criticism that he is not a hard worker. Cole’s backheeled goal against Manchester United last Saturday set Chelsea up for a vital 2-1 victory but the midfielder is unhappy at the suggestion that there is nothing more to his game than neat touches, tricks and flicks.
“I have steel, I’ve got some balls,” said Cole. “People who market me as just a flair player are a bit lazy. Come and watch me for five or six games. I don’t think there is a winger or an attacking midfielder who works as hard as me.
“I want to help my team. Sometimes I probably do it too much, maybe I should be a bit more clever, but now is not the time for that. Now is the time for everyone at Chelsea to do their jobs with no mistakes. If we don’t make any more mistakes we could win a Double.”
The midfielder is still involved in contract negotiations with Chelsea and some have speculated his future lies away from Stamford Bridge next season. But Cole continues to insist he is happy at Chelsea and also remains hopeful of earning a place in Fabio Capello’s England squad for the World Cup this summer.
“I’ve had the broadest spectrum of ups and downs a footballer can have,” said Cole. “I’ve captained a side to relegation [West Ham in 2003], I’ve won titles [Chelsea 2005, and 2006], I’ve missed out on playing in a major tournament [unused squad player Euro 2004] and also started a World Cup, where I scored an amazing goal [Sweden 2006].
“I’ve had all the highs and lows, which is a rich thing because life is about experiences. I just keep coming back, coming back stronger.”
In the immediate term, Cole has a potential Double with Chelsea to worry about, and ahead of Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa he admitted that he is still bothered by Chelsea’s failure to achieve the feat four years ago. Chelsea were strolling to a second successive title under José Mourinho but he missed a late chance to level the scores as they lost 2-1 to Liverpool in the semi-final at Old Trafford.
“We would have played West Ham in the final that year, so you would have definitely fancied us to win the Double,” added Cole. “I was very disappointed because that was one of my best seasons in a Chelsea shirt. I had a great chance, the ball dropped to me five yards out and I skied it into the stands. Two minutes later the whistle goes and I got on the coach feeling I had let people down.
“You remember those things as a footballer. I remember the misses, that was the worst I ever experienced. It would be really special if we won the Double this season, only six teams have done so, but it’s hard and we’re a long way from doing it.
“Just because we won at Old Trafford we have to remember there is still work to do.”
Chelsea demolished Aston Villa 7-1 in the league just over a fortnight ago but Cole believes they could provide one of the biggest obstacles to his Double dream.
“It’s not going to be that easy again,” he added. “They’re going to be hurt. I have been on the end of 7-1 defeats and it’s not nice. Those players will want to make sure they don’t end up getting another result like that. It won’t be 7-1, that’s for sure. It’s going to be a close game.”
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