da jogodeouro: Out of sorts West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has admitted he wasn't surprised when Fabio Capello dropped him from the England team recently.
da realbet: The powerful forward has failed to hit the target in nine games this term and, after missing a penalty against Bolton Wanderers in August, his form has taken a knock.
But Cole knows he must improve if he is to win a place back in the England squad.
"Being dropped from the England squad wasn't a surprise at all," Cole said."I haven't been playing so I didn't deserve to be called up.
"In the Bolton game, I missed a penalty and that's defined my season so far. If that had gone in, I think I would have gone on to score a few more goals by now.
"But there's a fine line in football sometimes and you get to learn from these things – that was a big moment to learn from.
"Right now, I'm heavily involved in the character-building process.
"You have to understand that for the last two years I've been the first-choice striker. Now Victor and Freddie have come in and it's time for me to up my game.
"I have to admit that I haven't been the same since my knee injury last year. I'm happy."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email