Beijing stars are heroes but we can be winners too, says Joe Cole

Joe Cole last night admitted the pressure of expectation has overcome England too many times - and it's time to restore the country's faith.

The build-up to England's opening friendly of the season against the Czech Republic tomorrow has been overshadowed by Britain's Olympic success in Beijing.

Such an array of medals has only served to reinforce the feeling of failure that led the FA to beat a path to Fabio Capello's door last December.

But while Chelsea midfielder Cole is convinced the Fabio factor will start to rub off ahead of next month's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia, he admitted that optimism in the national team had rarely been so low. "I'm still embarrassed about the European Championships," said Cole.

"We let ourselves down and we have to start winning on a regular basis.

"For the last week or so I've loved watching the Brits do well at the Olympics.

"We are like everyone else - we want them to win and get golds. Of course you get the comparisons with us. It is all relative.

"But when you step out onto that football pitch it isn't about money - it's about pride and performance, like any other sport. It shouldn't be about how much money you get paid but how much desire you show.

"Now we have to achieve and win - and then it won't matter what other sports do.

"The main thing for England is that you need players who can play under pressure, who can do it under the spotlight, because you know there's a lot of criticism waiting from the public.

"You've got to deal with that.

That's the hardest obstacle we've got to get over as a team - to learn to play under that intense pressure.

England have to get over that psychological barrier. It doesn't mean you'll play well every time.

"There'll be games when we don't play well, but you need to feel that, even when things aren't going well, that you're going to win."

It is the mantra we have heard before, although Cole did at least accept that the enormity of playing for England had become a debilitating weight.

"Playing for Chelsea and playing for England are two completely different things," added Cole. "International football is different.

"If you're asking how we can get better, it's about building confidence and being able to play under pressure. It's a process and we've got to be realistic.

"Now we have to build our belief. I wouldn't say that any one player lacks confidence or belief, but we need to improve on our mentality as a team.

"We're doing that. We're not burying our heads in the sand. We're going out there and trying to play, getting the ball down and trying to build.

"We need to stay cool and calm and keep going forward.

It's pigeon steps, going forward a little bit every time."

But Cole believes England have the ideal manager in Capello to take them forward.

He said: "When a manager like Capello comes in, he doesn't have to prove anything to you. His record does that.

"You know he's a winner so, if he tells you to do something, you feel that's how we should do it and that's how we can win games.

"We've had a bedding-in period. Now we're all looking forward to getting down to winning some points. We are all positive at the moment. We just want to get going."