Joe Cole – I'll fight for my place at Chelsea and England

The Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole has only recently returned to fitness after rupturing his knee ligament back in January, and he is now no longer a certain starter for Chelsea and will need to prove his worth to the new manager Carlo Ancelotti before becoming a regular again.

Cole took no part in yesterday’s crucial defeat to Man City, and he accepts that he still has work to do.

He said: “I know what I am capable of and I need to get back to that level.

“I’m not far off, you know that I have had some good games and I have had some poor games, that is understandable when you come back from a long-term injury.

“One thing is for sure, I will fight tooth and nail to get into the team because that is where I was before I had to come out of the squad with injury.”

He was then asked if he had received any contact from the England manager Fabio Capello, and he replied: “No, no. I think he is the England manager and he is concerned with winning games for England. He has players that he has to concentrate upon at the moment and that is fine by me. As long as I know, looking at it, that as long as you are playing well you are getting in squads – that is the best thing as a team and a squad to have.

“You want to know that if you are doing the business on the pitch then you are going to get in. The team has done a great job and I am looking to be part of it.”

Joe certainly has the quality, and he now just has to get his consistency back, and i am sure he will have a big say in the rest of Chelsea’s season, and hopefully England’s too.