Cole out to give fans boost

The Chelsea full-back capped an impressive performance with a well-taken strike on Saturday as the Blues went top of the league with a 3-0 victory over Burnley.

But rather bask in the glory of what was just the 28-year-old's third goal in Chelsea colours, the left-back has turned his attentions to the forthcoming international fixtures in which Fabio Capello's side can book their ticket to South Africa next year.

A clash against Slovenia is first up for Capello's Three Lions this Saturday, but it is the World Cup qualifier four days later which Cole has his eyes on as he targets the chance for the national side to impress the England faithful.

Pride point
"We're so close and it's starting to feel like we're on the way. It would be nice if we could make the country proud of football again," the former Arsenal defender told the Daily Star Sunday

"We've got a very big game coming up against Croatia and if we get a good result then we're virtually there.

"It would be a great achievement for the players and the country as well - hopefully it would put a smile back on people's faces.

"We know what it did when we missed out on Euro 2008. It put the country in a bad state - everyone was thinking we weren't good enough.

"But we've been very focused since then - we're top of the qualifying group and hopefully we can beat Croatia and get one back on them."