Cole - Croatia will be different

Cole: Backing Fabio effect

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Joe Cole has urged England's critics to judge the side after Wednesday's encounter against Croatia.

Fabio Capello's men have come in for criticism after they began their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign with an unconvincing 2-0 win over Andorra.

But Cole, who came off the bench versus the Andorrans to net both goals, feels the fixture in Zagreb will prove how far the national team have come under Capello.

The Chelsea midfielder told talkSPORT radio: "It is two different animals - last night was about getting the job done, coming out with two points and no injuries.

"Playing Croatia will be different. You will have to judge to see how far we have come after Wednesday night."

Animated

Of Capello, Cole added: "We saw (something) a little bit different from him last night.

"I was sitting on the bench in the first half and he was very animated and very frustrated. You like to see a bit of that in your manager sometimes.

"He was up and down, ranting and raving and I got the feeling the business has really started now.

"He is getting his message across and we have been working really hard. We have had so many meetings on how we want to play and different tactics."