Cole puts World Cup dream on hold

JOE COLE is putting his World Cup dream to one side in order to concentrate on making Chelsea champions again.

Cole has endured a difficult time since returning from cruciate surgery in September and was left out of Fabio Capello’s squad for the recent friendly win over Egypt at Wembley.

“You cannot talk your way into the England squad,” Cole said yesterday. “If I am playing regularly in a team fighting to be champions I will have every chance. But my main focus now is Chelsea. It is very important this club gets back to the summit of English football. I want to be part of the team that becomes champions again.”

Cole admits he has found it hard to hold down a regular place in Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

“I never lost belief and there is no doubting what I can do. I just needed a run of games,” he said.