Chris Coleman will have no complaints if Blackburn’s travelling fans give their former striker Andy Cole “some stick” at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
“I hope they do because I think he’ll perform,” said Coleman who is looking for Cole to snap out of his recent barren spell and regain his scoring form.
“In the last few games Coley hasn’t been himself and he’ll be the first to tell you that.
“His performances have been a little bit below par but he is the type of guy who is still very serious about his football and he knows he’s been under-performing in the last few games, as have some of the other guys.
“If Blackburn fans want to give him a bit of stick then they’re welcome to because I think that will fire him up.
“Everybody has their good patches and bad patches but he’s got six goals in something like 11 games so he’s done fantastic for us.
“Sometimes when you are going through a bit of a dodgy patch you try too hard and being the kind of player he is he just has to pull the trigger and he scores a goal. I just think he’s been trying too hard lately but he’ll get back on it.”
Cole left Blackburn following a much-publicised spat with the club’s former manager Graeme Souness but Coleman insists he has nothing to prove to Rovers’ fans.
“He’s the kind of guy who wants to prove to himself every week that he’s still got it, he still wants to play in the Premiership and he still wants to score goals.
“I don’t believe he will be thinking he needs to prove anything to Blackburn. They won the Carling Cup when he was there so I think the fans will always appreciate him anyway.
“He had his problems with Graeme and that’s by the by but I don’t think he’s the type of guy who feels he has to go out and prove things to teams he’s played for. I think he just wants to prove to himself and his team-mates what he’s all about.”
But there is no questioning Cole’s determination to line up for Fulham, already without injured striker Luis Boa Morte, against Blackburn after he underwent an injection in an injured toe.
