Carlton Cole believes Saturday's npower Championship victory over Millwall was the perfect example of why West Ham United are top of the table.

The Hammers overcame the loss of Kevin Nolan to a ninth-minute red card and the disappointment of seeing Liam Trotter equalise for the Lions midway through the second half to pull off a dramatic win.

Cole was central to West Ham's success, scoring a vital goal on the stroke of half-time and producing an outstanding individual performance full of strength, power and determination. The No9's superb display was one of many from the men in claret and blue, who fully deserved a victory that took them four points clear at the summit.

"The fact that we went down to ten men early and still came out with a victory shows you that we are together and the spirit of the team," Cole told West Ham TV. "We didn't panic and the Gaffer didn't make any decisions that would cost us the game and fair play to him because that's the sort of manager he is - he sticks to his guns and knows what players can do what and how to use the players properly.

"You've got to put a shift in. Everyone has got to stand up and be counted when you're down to ten men. We put the pressure on Millwall. They [the eleven men] were expected to score, so when you put a shift in against them you are sometimes harder to play against because everyone is grafting. You become a more resilient team and Saturday showed that."

Cole's appetite for the game was perfectly illustrated by his 45th-minute goal, when he leapt in front of Darren Ward to head the ball powerfully past former West Ham trainee David Forde.

"It's what I expect of myself. Sometimes I can be criticised for not getting into those positions and I need to do that more. On Saturday, I did it and it was an important goal and an important time. We went in 1-0 up so that was the main point."

The England striker's goal was his ninth of the season but the first since he netted at Birmingham City on Boxing Day. Cole is hoping the arrival of Nicky Maynard, Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison will provide him with plenty of opportunities to add to that tally between now and the end of April.

"I'd say they are not in my position really. I'm the No9 and they are more wingers and No10s. All I've got to do is try to help create goals and be strong up there and be that safety pin up front to hold their defence back.

"I know I can score goals - that's not a big problem for me - but it's getting around the goalscoring opportunities and there's not been a lot coming my way in the last two or three weeks. I've not been in the positions to miss and that's what I need to get back to doing.

"On Saturday I was in the position to score and I was really happy with that. More service is better for the No9. Everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction and helping each other to score more goals. That's why the manager has brought in players who can score and create."

With Cole and both his new and old team-mates firing on all cylinders, the striker believes West Ham can extend their advantage at the top over the coming weeks.

"We need to keep on ticking off the wins and getting in the right positions. We're up there at the moment and we're not up there by accident - we're up there because we've grafted to get there and Saturday just showed the endeavour and the spirit of the team."