Joe for it! Cole: Liverpool should play me in the middle

Posted Tuesday, May 22, 2012 by The Sun

Joe for it! Cole: Liverpool should play me in the middle
OOH LA LA ... Joe Cole is mobbed after scoring against St Etienne

JOE COLE wants to be the middle-man for Liverpool’s new boss.

Cole admits his future is up in the air following Kenny Dalglish’s sacking and the end of his season-long loan at Lille.

But he refuses to give up on his dream of making it at Anfield and insists he is a more mature player and person after 10 months in France.

Cole, 30, said: “I haven’t had any conversations with Liverpool, but as it stands I’m back there for pre-season.

“When you don’t know who the manager is going to be you cannot do much else really. I’m hoping to make it at Liverpool.

“My time at Lille has been extremely positive. I’ve moved back from the wing into a more central midfield role and I have thrived there.

“It’s my best position, I was doing it at 19 for West Ham.

“The days of me running down the wing are over, I see my future in the middle now. It’s where I can get my foot on the ball and get the best out of myself.

“Once a new manager is appointed then we’ll see how it goes with him.”

Cole’s old club West Ham are already linked with a move for their once-cherished playmaker following promotion back to the Premier League.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is also a long-time admirer of Cole’s skills and Liverpool would probably allow him to go on a free to return to London.

Cole scored nine goals for Lille boss Rudi Garcia to help the club back into the Champions League and embraced a new way of life and football style.

He added: “It’s an unbelievable achievement for us.

“We lost loads of good players last summer and to help the club finish third is something to be proud of.

“It’s been a whole new team and I have learnt so much from my time here.

“If I ever go into management this experience will have helped me enormously. I’ve gained so much.”

Cole was left out of Roy Hodgson’s Euro 2012 squad but he also refuses to give up on his England dreams.

He said: “England has gone in a different direction and there’s nothing I can do about that. But I still believe I could play in two years’ time at the World Cup in Brazil.

“I won’t give up. I’m going away for a couple of weeks but then I’ll start training by myself to keep ticking over in case I’m in the Olympic squad. That would be brilliant.

“It’s been an incredible season. I’m really pleased for my old mates at Chelsea — but I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t feel a tinge of envy.

“I’m also really chuffed that West Ham have come up.

“I got tickets for a mate who has never seen them win anything and he got a seat right by where the players went up to lift the trophy. He was beside himself with joy.”