Joe: Let's Build

Joe Cole believes the club could be on the verge of something big - and insists he wants to win things with the Hammers.

"It was great to finish above Spurs and get seventh place," says Joe. "It was a great day and a great experience again, so now it is the time for the club to pump some money in and hold on to the players and push on for next year," he says.

"Now is the time, and it is now or never, to really push on - we have a great chance of breaking into that top six.

"I am only a player but that is the general feeling among the boys. We want to stay here and we want the club to push us on and bring in more players. It would be nice, that is all I am saying."

Joe is echoing Glenn Roeder's thoughts about adding to the main crop of talent and only letting fringe players leave, and he says: "We have got some great players here and hopefully we can stay together and improve next year."

And he says he is undaunted by the players he could be up against if he does get to play in the World Cup, adding: "Without being big-headed, I feel I belong with these players and I'm ready to go out there to the World Cup and play, because I have great belief in my ability.

"I know I can play football and every night for about a year I've been dreaming about it, about winning and lifting the World Cup."

Much has been made of him having the same number jersey as Paul Gascgoine did when he set the world alight in the 1990 finals, but Joe admits: "I would have rather have had the number 8 jersey, to be honest.

"I'm always being compared to Gazza, he has said some very nice things about me, but the comparison is not fair because I'm just starting out and he's been there and done it."