Cole fired up for Sunday

Carlton Cole is hoping to "put one over" Chelsea when he returns to his former club as a proud part of the West Ham United attack on Sunday afternoon,

The striker and the rest of the squad have been working hard with Gianfranco Zola at Chadwell Heath this week in preparation for the game and Cole says there is confidence they can leave Stamford Bridge on a high.

"It's all about polishing up and getting a few things right and I think that's going to happen," he said. "We're just waiting now and we know it's all going to click eventually. We can feel it in training. We're training hard and the manager understands us. He has so much belief in us and we need to keep on going."

Cole is now an established West Ham United player, having just signed a new five-year contract, and is determined to show his former employers how much he has developed since leaving.

"I've still got mates at Chelsea but it won't be weird because I've played against them a lot of times now and hopefully I can put one over them and ruffle a few feathers. I don't think I have anything to prove. I am past all that now and I'm fully committed to West Ham and I've actually forgotten about Chelsea.

"Obviously, I'm grateful to Chelsea for giving me the chance to play professional football but now I'm looking forward to bigger and better things with West Ham. It's up to me to take my chance at West Ham and I'm just grateful to Chelsea for allowing me that opportunity."

The 25-year-old can still recall the times he was paired in attack with his now manager, Gianfranco Zola. "We played a few games together and he set up a few of my goals as well," he recalls with a smile. "I was happy to play in those games with someone like him. He has a great understanding of the game and he helped me get those goals and make me into a better player."

United suffered their first defeat in four against Tottenham Hotspur last time out but Cole knows a positive result at Stamford Bridge would erase any memories from that game.

"If we can get a result at Chelsea then we can get back on level terms. We can then forget about last week's game against Spurs and try to carry on and commit ourselves to the cause. These are the things which inspire us and I think we're going to go out there and put in a good performance and see what we can get from it."