A thrilled Gianfranco Zola heaped praise on his West Ham United players after guiding them to an impressive 3-1 Premier League victory over Fulham on Sunday.
Goals from David Di Michele, Mark Noble and man-of-the-match Carlton Cole saw the Hammers extend their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions and rise to eighth in the table. Afterwards, the manager was delighted with the attitude, application, confidence and no little skill shown by his players.
Zola, whose side will travel to Hartlepool United for Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie in positive mood, was particularly impressed with Cole. Watched by England head coach Fabio Capello, the 25-year-old scored for the fifth match in succession - the best run of his career.
"Remember what I said about Carlton Cole at the beginning and I wasn't a fool when I said that," the manager said. "I knew the potential of the player because I can recognise a player. The difference between us and them was definitely Carlton Cole. He made it happen. In the second half he changed the game around. Although I have to say he was supported by ten other fantastic players.
"The whole team looked very, very comfortable on the pitch. They are playing as a team. Within the team there are always one or two individuals who change the game and (on Sunday) it was Carlton Cole. I'm proud to say that it was not only [on Sunday], it has been in the last four or five games that he has made a difference.
"I'm pleased. I'm pleased for him because in every training session we are working out new ways to improve him and his attitude towards our exercises is excellent and it's making a difference right now."
While he was pleased with his players' passing, movement and collective will to win, Zola was also impressed with their ability to ignore off the field speculation and rumour. The manager also praised the team for enlivening an unusually becalmed Boleyn Ground crowd with a stirring second-half display.
"It was very, very good. It was a great result and a great performance in difficult conditions. I am very proud of my players. I have told them they made everything happen because it was easier for us to fail. It was a strange atmosphere in the stadium as well and we turned in a great game and it was all down to the players really.
"During the week there was so much written talking around us. To be fair, it has been like this all year but this week, in particular, I couldn't even think. I had time to think about the game we played only on Saturday. It was unbelievable. When we started the game I think the atmosphere was flat. I was told the Sunday morning atmospheres are always a bit strange and it was flat, especially in the first half. Then the players decided it had to be a win day and they made it happen. It was a great performance."
Zola also moved to clarify the situation surrounding the future of striker Craig Bellamy, who was left out of Sunday's matchday squad after missing training on Saturday.
"He wasn't on the bench because I didn't put him in the squad. I didn't think he was in the right frame of mind. That's it. The situation is as simple as that. Today he wasn't involved but fortunately the players that played played out of their skins and played a fantastic match.
"The player has expressed his wishes and I respect his wishes. For me, as far as I am concerned every time he played, he played [to his maximum]. Sometimes he played with some small injuries and gave 100 per cent. I stand by him. I can't go over that. That's beyond my powers.
"The situation has to be dealt with as soon as possible," added Zola, who had rightly spent his weekend focused solely on matchday matters. "I didn't set a deadline but it has to be done as soon as possible because I need to get on with my squad and I need to know where I have to go to. I need to work out how we can solve this situation. It has to be quick."