It hasn’t always been quite the ‘love-in’ witnessed on Saturday between the two, as Cole recalled: “I played against the Manager a few times, and a few times he threatened to knock my head off!
“The good thing with him, and the last manager I had is that they know all about me, they know what I’m about. I give 100%, I can be a bit narky on the pitch and do things that I shouldn’t, but I think people respect me for that - which is a good thing.”
Cole also explained what the Manager had outlined to him following his free transfer move from Fulham: “He said to me that whatever happens, if I stay for a year or two years, that when I leave make sure that everyone knows what you’re about. And that’s what I want to do.”
The 33-year-old added about Pearce: “When he took over at the end of last season, the respect that the players gave him, the way he changed the training and everything in the Club, everyone’s taken to him. No-one’s got a bad word to say about him.
“The team’s winning, playing well, he treats everyone like grown-ups. There’s not one individual who he lets get away with anything, it’s very much a team ethic, and we’re all happy with that.”
