Fresh from scoring his first goal in four months it was a happy Joe Cole who spoke after the big win at Old Trafford.
The England international was one of the beneficiaries of Carlo Ancelotti's decisions to keep with the side that had done so well against Aston Villa the previous match and didn't disappoint. He will be hoping that an influential display that paid off his manager's faith and helped send Chelsea back to the top of the league also alerted Fabio Capello to his return to form, especially now an injury to David Beckham has cut the number of experienced options who can play wide on the right.
'You can't talk your way into the England squad,' Cole pointed out after Saturday's 2-1 win, 'but if I am playing regularly for a team fighting for the championship I will have every chance. But my main focus now is Chelsea. It is very important that this club gets back to the summit and I will fight every minute I can to win the league. I felt better on Saturday than I did last week and I am sure next week I will feel even better.
'It has been an up and down season for me,' he admitted.
'Coming back from an injury you need continuous games to get that match sharpness which I haven't had, but I got back into the side against Villa and I just need to do it consistently now to the end of the season.
'When I was coming back from injury I had a good run of games when the boys were away at the African Nations Cup and I felt I was getting my old sharpness back and I was creating goals. Then I picked up a little niggle, lost my place and when you are at a big club you are going to have to fight to get it back, so I have just been working hard. I hope I can keep my place now but the main thing is that Chelsea keep winning.'
Cole described Ancelotti's naming of an unchanged side that meant leaving top scorer Didier Drogba on the bench as a 'bold' move, but one that paid off with Nicolas Anelka's counter-attacking pace a concern for the home side when they pressed forward and Drogba fresh to make an impact late in the game. He also saw an altered formation working well.
'I enjoy playing on the right-hand side and we changed the system in January and things went really well, and now we have also changed the system in the last three games and things have gone really well, but it is more to do with how the boys are focused now and we are looking really good whoever comes into this team.
'You can't come to Old Trafford and play open football, you have to defend well from the front man right through to the goalkeeper.
'It was a tough game, playing against [Patrice] Evra who is one of the best left backs in the world, and we did a lot of defending, especially in the second half, but we were organised and did a good job as a team.
'It puts it back in our own hands which is where we wanted it. Of the five league games left, three are at home and there are some really tough away games. Try to win them is all we can do.'
The England international was one of the beneficiaries of Carlo Ancelotti's decisions to keep with the side that had done so well against Aston Villa the previous match and didn't disappoint. He will be hoping that an influential display that paid off his manager's faith and helped send Chelsea back to the top of the league also alerted Fabio Capello to his return to form, especially now an injury to David Beckham has cut the number of experienced options who can play wide on the right.
'You can't talk your way into the England squad,' Cole pointed out after Saturday's 2-1 win, 'but if I am playing regularly for a team fighting for the championship I will have every chance. But my main focus now is Chelsea. It is very important that this club gets back to the summit and I will fight every minute I can to win the league. I felt better on Saturday than I did last week and I am sure next week I will feel even better.
'It has been an up and down season for me,' he admitted.
'Coming back from an injury you need continuous games to get that match sharpness which I haven't had, but I got back into the side against Villa and I just need to do it consistently now to the end of the season.
'When I was coming back from injury I had a good run of games when the boys were away at the African Nations Cup and I felt I was getting my old sharpness back and I was creating goals. Then I picked up a little niggle, lost my place and when you are at a big club you are going to have to fight to get it back, so I have just been working hard. I hope I can keep my place now but the main thing is that Chelsea keep winning.'
Cole described Ancelotti's naming of an unchanged side that meant leaving top scorer Didier Drogba on the bench as a 'bold' move, but one that paid off with Nicolas Anelka's counter-attacking pace a concern for the home side when they pressed forward and Drogba fresh to make an impact late in the game. He also saw an altered formation working well.
'I enjoy playing on the right-hand side and we changed the system in January and things went really well, and now we have also changed the system in the last three games and things have gone really well, but it is more to do with how the boys are focused now and we are looking really good whoever comes into this team.
'You can't come to Old Trafford and play open football, you have to defend well from the front man right through to the goalkeeper.
'It was a tough game, playing against [Patrice] Evra who is one of the best left backs in the world, and we did a lot of defending, especially in the second half, but we were organised and did a good job as a team.
'It puts it back in our own hands which is where we wanted it. Of the five league games left, three are at home and there are some really tough away games. Try to win them is all we can do.'
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