Inspired Cole lays groundwork for switch back to senior service

Joe Cole has set his sights on regaining his place in the full England squad after inspiring the Under-21 team to a 4-0 demolition of Slovakia in their opening European Championship qualifier.

Cole had been left out by Sven Goran Eriksson for yesterday's clash with Slovakia in Bratislava after figuring in his plans for much of the past 12 months, including being part of the World Cup squad. But the West Ham player had no complaints after being returned to Under-21 coach David Platt's new-look squad for the first time in 14 months.

Cole set up the first two goals in the match on Friday evening at the Spartak Trnava stadium and capped his performance with a stunning 20-yard strike in the 87th minute – even though Eriksson was not there to see it as he had left the stadium before the final whistle.

"It wasn't a case of me sending a message with the way I played," Cole said. "I just thought to myself 'I'm going to work hard here, see if I can try and open things up and make a few goals', and it worked for me on this occasion. It's pleasing when it happens like that, but now I've got another game on Tuesday against Macedonia and I must do the same again."

There has been a groundswell of opinion that Cole may have paid the price for being part of a Hammers side struggling desperately to find their touch at the bottom of the Premiership. Cole declined to comment on that, but he insisted he has been pleased with his own displays. And he spelt out his determination to keep performing at the kind of high level that will persuade Eriksson to make his exclusion from the senior team a brief affair.

"It was not so much of a shock to be left out because I'm not a regular member of the team and so I always look to see if my name is in the squad," Cole said. "But I'm sure West Ham fans will say that this is the best I've been playing on a regular basis since I broke through into the side. I've been really enjoying my football even though the team has not been doing very well. People say that maybe that went against me but I don't want to get into that.

"Players before have gone in the senior squad, come back into the Under-21s and then gone back into the seniors – and that's the attitude I've got to take. I don't see it as a step down because for me it's always an honour to play for my country.

"I'm an ambitious lad who wants to get back into the full squad as soon as possible, but I know the only way to do that is by doing well for West Ham and the Under-21s. I'm not silly."

Typically, Platt refused to single out Cole for individual praise and focused more on a fine all-round team performance against a side only beaten 2-1 in Turkey in their opening group encounter. "There is a media presence surrounding Joe with him going to a World Cup and then dropping down to the Under-21s," Platt said. "I never expected anything different from him or the rest of the players and it would be unfair to single out one player from a very good performance.

"It was our first group game and we've got a win and scored goals but also put in a good performance. Good performances and results breed spirit and confidence and we can build on that."

Cole created the first-half opener for Shola Ameobi and a delightful ball set up Francis Jeffers for the second goal. The Arsenal striker converted a pass from Aston Villa's Jlloyd Samuel to make it 3-0 and then Cole provided the coup de grace with his powerful effort. Cole's goal was his third of this season's campaign so far which means he has already surpassed his tally from last season.