Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Roy Eyes Cole Boost

Roy Hodgson is hoping Joe Cole's match-winning goal against Bolton Wanderers will kick-start his Liverpool career.

The former Chelsea and West Ham man has endured a slow start to life at Anfield after being sent off on his league debut for the club against Arsenal.

Injury has also curtailed his availability and form, although Hodgson insists the England international has never lost faith in his own ability.

Cole scored his first Premier League goal for the club on New Year's Day with a crucial last-gasp effort against Bolton which also eased the pressure on Hodgson.

Hodgson now hopes Cole's inauspicious start to his Liverpool career is in the past and that he can start replicating the form that earned him his Anfield move.

"The goal will do a lot for him, but he's quite confident at the moment," said Hodgson.

"Joe is a very confident player. He always thinks he is playing well, so he doesn't have any great worries about that side of things.

"But, of course, one of the things he knows he will be criticized for, I guess, is that he doesn't score enough goals.

"If we think of his time here at Liverpool, we can all think of goal chances which were there to be taken which he didn't.

"So I'm sure he is delighted to have put that behind him by scoring a very, very important winning goal against Bolton."

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