Soccer: Eriksson plans heart-to-heart with goal-shy Cole

Sven-Goran Eriksson will hold heart-to-heart talks with Andy Cole ahead of England's World Cup qualifier in Albania.

He wants to ensure that the striker's confidence has not suffered a jolt.

Eriksson seems set to retain faith in Cole on Wednesday despite the Manchester United forward's failure to break his goal drought after 12 caps.

Question marks have been raised over his place in the team in Tirana, while ex-England coaches Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan never seemed completely convinced about him in the past.

And there are examples in the past, such as Ian Wright and Clive Allen, of prolific top-flight goalscorers who have failed to complete the transformation to England level with any real consistency.

However, just as he did with Hernan Crespo at Lazio when the £37m record signing initially struggled to find the net, Eriksson seems set to bolster Cole's confidence by refusing to drop him.

The England coaching team's belief is that Cole's first England goal will "come sooner or later", revealed the Swede's right-hand man, Tord Grip.

Eriksson is nevertheless leaving nothing to chance and is instead planning to take time out with the striker to ensure that his mind is focused on the task ahead rather than worrying about the squandered chances of the past.

Grip added: "You can have some talks. There is a lot of psychology that can help. Sven will talk with him at some point before the game if he hasn't done so already.

"It's important for a player to feel confident and to feel secure. The staff can always help any player."