Cole honoured by captaincy role

Glenn Roeder handed the West Ham captaincy to Joe Cole on Saturday because he believes the 21-year-old has the respect of his team-mates.

With both regular skipper Paolo Di Canio and club captain Steve Lomas injured, Hammers boss Roeder needed to entrust the armband to a new leader for the trip to Middlesbrough, and he chose midfield maestro Cole for the honour.