West Ham United midfielder Joe Cole has revealed how taunts from Ken Bates inspired him to great things at Chelsea.

Bates mocked him for joining the club at the start of the Roman Abramovich era in 2003.

He told cfuk magazine: "I rolled in at Chelsea on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'.

"Then Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position as me, costing three or four times as much.

"As soon as I signed, Bates said to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'.

"I just thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron was off."