West Ham Cole reveals joining Liverpool was a mistake

West Ham midfielder Joe Cole admitted he made a mistake joining Liverpool, however now he is happy again at West Ham and wants to finish his football career with the London side.

Cole has joined the Hummers in January, after being frozen out at Anfield for about two and a half years. The 31-year-old former England international revealed he should have not made a switch to Merseyside, after his contract expired at Chelsea.

Cole said he has failed to settle in Liverpool, but claimed he was left with little choice but to join the Reds as he could not see himself wearing the Spurs’ shirt. “I can only play for teams that I’m passionate about and I think that’s what went wrong for me at Liverpool. I didn’t feel a connection with the club or the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham.”

“I had seven great years at Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn’t involved. So I was left with two real options - Liverpool or Spurs. Spurs was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings,” said Cole.

He added: “But I just couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. With the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit mercenary”