Handy Andy!

Cole: United hero

When I signed Brian Kidd was the coach and he said to me: 'If you think scoring 40 goals is going to be good enough at this football club, you're wrong.' I looked at him and thought: 'He's a bit weird isn't he?'

Andy Cole
Quotes of the week

Andy Cole relived his Old Trafford glory days with Ian and Kammy on the Goals on Sunday sofa.

The striker, who recently called time on his playing career, is perhaps best remembered for his six-year spell at Manchester United when he won a remarkable five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League, including the historic treble of the 1999 season.

Despite his success Cole admitted he initially found it difficult to join such a big club for such a big transfer fee following his £6million move from Newcastle in 1995.

However, he says he was helped through a tough start by the players and coaching staff and improved as a footballer during his spell in Manchester.

"£6million was loads of money in those days," he told Goals on Sunday.

"If you look at transfer fees now it's very, very small but going to Manchester United was like going to the Hollywood of football.

"It's a wonderful football club and a club I always wanted to play for and fortunately for me I did just that.

"When I first went there it was difficult. Manchester United is the biggest football club in the world, it was a big transfer fee at the time and I was under a lot of pressure.

"I worked myself through that, I worked with the coaches and I worked with some great players. I came through it and I loved every single minute of it.

"When I signed Brian Kidd was the coach and he said to me: 'If you think scoring 40 goals is going to be good enough at this football club, you're wrong.' I looked at him and thought: 'He's a bit weird isn't he?'

"But I knew exactly where he was coming from because you've got to go to Manchester United and become a footballer, not just a goalscorer.

"I managed to do that. I went there and became a better footballer. I played with great players and they helped to make me a better footballer.

"I've gone on record as saying that as long as my team-mates appreciated me and the management staff appreciated what I was trying to do and what I was trying to achieve that was the most important thing for me.

"Over the course I think I got the respect I deserved."

Best

Cole was also full of praise for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, saying that the Scot knew exactly how to get the best out of him.

"He was the best manager I've worked with by far," he said.

"I've gone on record as saying he's the only one that understood me as a player and as a person and he always got the best out of me. He used to say to me that I could start a row in an empty house!

"We always had that kind of relationship so that when it was game time he knew what games to play me in and what games not to play me in because he always knew if he left me out for a certain game I'd come back stronger for the other game whatever it may be.

"We had a very good relationship. I've enjoyed every minute of my career and he was a very big factor in it.

"Most of the time he'd give me a bit of stick. He knew what I was as a person, he understood me as a person and he was so good with me. He just knew how and when to get the best out of me."

Partnership

Cole also reflected on playing with Dwight Yorke, as the pair are regarded by many as one of the greatest strike partnerships to grace the top flight.

Cole admits their success together was a complete accident and came about despite the fact they had very different personalities.

"It was frightening," he said.

"I think everyone knows we were totally opposites. When Yorkie came to the football club it was strange because the manager tried to bring Patrick Kluivert as well so my days could have been numbered.

"Yorkie's come in and at first the manager didn't think the partnership was going to work and he played with Ole (Gunnar Solskjaer) and he played with Teddy (Sheringham) and then we played away to Southampton at the Dell. We won 2-0 and from there the partnership went into overdrive.

"There was nothing rehearsed in training, the way we played just gelled and it worked from there."

Dominant

Cole admits it was a dream to win all the trophies that he did with United - but said it was the desire to keep moving forward that was the secret of the club's success.

"You go to a club like Manchester United to win silverware and you want to be dominant in whatever field you want to be in.

"I went to Man Utd to win championships, to win FA Cups and to win the European Cup. As a kid you could only dream of stuff like that. I'd watch that kind of stuff on TV and never ever believe that one day I'd be in that kind of position. I was very fortunate that way.

"The boss was very good in that way though because once he'd won it, it was all forgotten in his eyes.

"You'd go on holiday and come back and you might still be buzzing from last season, but that was forgotten and it was time to work towards this season. He was very good that way.

"That's what it's about when you play for clubs like Manchester United. You're expected to win things season in season out. As a player you've got to have the passion and the hunger to want to carry on and win even more things."