Carlton Cole is itching to return to training and help West Ham United end their indifferent run of results
Carlton Cole is ready to return to training and help West Ham United end their indifferent run of results.
The centre forward has been ruled out with a hamstring injury suffered in the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Tottenham Hotspur on 22 February.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday programme, the long-serving No24 will be back in training this week ahead of next weekend’s visit of struggling Sunderland.
With the Hammers on a run of just one win in their last 12 league matches, conceding a number of late goals in the process, Cole wants to get back to playing and scoring goals in Claret and Blue.
“It’s been a disappointing run but we’ll come through it,” said the striker, who has netted 68 goals for the Club. “Sam will just keep drilling into our heads that what we’re doing is unacceptable, so we’ll come good in the end.
“We just need to get that win on the board. Once we get that next win, I think we’ll be fine, but right now we’re in a lull and we’re trying to dig our way out of it and get some points on the table.
“At the start of the season, everything was going for us, but things have started to tail-off a little bit. I think mentally we’re a bit comfortable because we’re not fighting a relegation battle.”
While he admits the Hammers are enjoying mid-table security, he denied that the players have taken their foot off the gas, consciously or sub-consciously.
“I don’t think it is that, I think it is just our form and once we get that next win then we’ll start enjoying it again and it’ll start ticking over for us,” Cole continued. “Right now, it’s just our form that we need to find and we can move on.
“It is frustrating to concede late goals, especially the ones against Spurs because they were a killer blow for us. It hurts and knocks the stuffing out of you, but that’s when you need to find your character as a team and pull through.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads and everybody pulls in the same direction and that’s what we’ve got to do again now.”
The centre forward has been ruled out with a hamstring injury suffered in the 2-2 Barclays Premier League draw at Tottenham Hotspur on 22 February.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday programme, the long-serving No24 will be back in training this week ahead of next weekend’s visit of struggling Sunderland.
With the Hammers on a run of just one win in their last 12 league matches, conceding a number of late goals in the process, Cole wants to get back to playing and scoring goals in Claret and Blue.
“It’s been a disappointing run but we’ll come through it,” said the striker, who has netted 68 goals for the Club. “Sam will just keep drilling into our heads that what we’re doing is unacceptable, so we’ll come good in the end.
“We just need to get that win on the board. Once we get that next win, I think we’ll be fine, but right now we’re in a lull and we’re trying to dig our way out of it and get some points on the table.
“At the start of the season, everything was going for us, but things have started to tail-off a little bit. I think mentally we’re a bit comfortable because we’re not fighting a relegation battle.”
While he admits the Hammers are enjoying mid-table security, he denied that the players have taken their foot off the gas, consciously or sub-consciously.
“I don’t think it is that, I think it is just our form and once we get that next win then we’ll start enjoying it again and it’ll start ticking over for us,” Cole continued. “Right now, it’s just our form that we need to find and we can move on.
“It is frustrating to concede late goals, especially the ones against Spurs because they were a killer blow for us. It hurts and knocks the stuffing out of you, but that’s when you need to find your character as a team and pull through.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads and everybody pulls in the same direction and that’s what we’ve got to do again now.”
Once we get that next win, I think we’ll be fine, but right now we’re in a lull and we’re trying to dig our way out of it and get some points on the table
Cole was also asked about his recent issues with social media.
The 31-year-old is a prolific user of Twitter and Instagram, but recently fell foul of the authorities after being fined £20,000 by the FA for an inappropriate tweet – his second such fine following an earlier breach of the rules in 2011.
While he admitted he should not have allowed trolls to wind him up, Cole called for stronger action to be taken against those who bait footballers and others in the public eye.
“The amount of abuse you get on Twitter is sometimes unruly and you can’t defend yourself as a footballer,” he explained. “Obviously I know I’ve got responsibility and I’m a role model and some of the language that gets spouted at you, you can’t return it. You’ve got to be very aware of that and I did make a mistake.
“You can’t defend yourself. You’re a sitting duck really and you need to try and be able to blank it out of your mind – but some of the stuff they say is too much.
“If you can’t handle it you should stay off Twitter or else you’re going to be getting fined a lot. Forty grand hurts! I try to keep it humorous on Twitter, but sometimes being humorous does get you into trouble.
“I like to interact with the fans and tell my jokes. I just like to show my emotions. We’re not robots, us footballers, and Twitter is a great avenue to show our real character.”
You can follow Carlton Cole on Twitter @CarltonCole1.
The 31-year-old is a prolific user of Twitter and Instagram, but recently fell foul of the authorities after being fined £20,000 by the FA for an inappropriate tweet – his second such fine following an earlier breach of the rules in 2011.
While he admitted he should not have allowed trolls to wind him up, Cole called for stronger action to be taken against those who bait footballers and others in the public eye.
“The amount of abuse you get on Twitter is sometimes unruly and you can’t defend yourself as a footballer,” he explained. “Obviously I know I’ve got responsibility and I’m a role model and some of the language that gets spouted at you, you can’t return it. You’ve got to be very aware of that and I did make a mistake.
“You can’t defend yourself. You’re a sitting duck really and you need to try and be able to blank it out of your mind – but some of the stuff they say is too much.
“If you can’t handle it you should stay off Twitter or else you’re going to be getting fined a lot. Forty grand hurts! I try to keep it humorous on Twitter, but sometimes being humorous does get you into trouble.
“I like to interact with the fans and tell my jokes. I just like to show my emotions. We’re not robots, us footballers, and Twitter is a great avenue to show our real character.”
You can follow Carlton Cole on Twitter @CarltonCole1.