Standing in the cold night air at Burnley, Joe Cole could have been forgiven for thinking about the grander stages he has graced in his career. The former Chelsea and England star’s mind could have wandered to the lucrative offers he turned down to finish his career abroad last summer instead of taking a pay cut to join Aston Villa on a free transfer from West Ham. But after scoring on his first Premier League start for Villa in a typically full-blooded English encounter, there was nowhere Cole would rather have been than Turf Moor. Joe Cole wheels away after scoring his first goal for Aston Villa to put them ahead at Turf Moor . Cole's strike was his first since December 2013, and came on his first start for Aston Villa in the league . ‘This is what it’s all about, playing in the Premier League,’ he said. ‘I could have gone and filled my pockets, and that’s not a criticism of the players who do that because it’s a short career and we’re not really qualified to do anything else after football. ‘I’ve been lucky enough and the fire still burns for me. I just want to play. I prefer to be in Burnley at Turf Moor than playing in the Middle East somewhere in 100 degrees. You know what I mean? It’s a proper game. ‘You have to respect the little kid who just dreamed of playing one minute in the Premier League. If you keep that in mind, you can keep playing for as long as you want.’ Cole has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to play for more money outside of England this summer . The former England midfielder is mobbed by his team-mates as Villa took the lead on Saturday . Cole knows his days at the top of the game, when he was an England regular, are behind him . At 33, the one-time prodigy of English football knows his best years are behind him. Even playing a full game might be asking too much these days. But Cole was excellent for the 67 minutes he was on the pitch, showing some of his old movement and anticipation to fire Villa ahead just before half-time and silence any doubters who question if he still has anything to offer at this level. ‘You deal with things like that,’ he added. ‘Once you get past 30 nowadays, people tend to question you. ‘They always have opinions. Have you got it, have you not got it? Are you going to be good enough to play for West Ham, for Chelsea or for England? Would I be able to go and play in France (with Lille)? ‘It’s just how you feel in yourself. I’m hungry to play, I’ve got the desire. While that’s still there, I’ll have a go.’ Danny Ings' late penalty denied Villa all three points, and Burnley almost snatched a late winner . Cole’s first goal since last December was not enough to prevent Villa’s winless run from stretching to nine games after Danny Ings equalised with a late penalty for Burnley and then hit the post in added time. That was the cue for a section of Villa’s fans to turn on manager Paul Lambert who 24 hours earlier had confirmed the shock departure of his No. 2 Roy Keane. First-team coach Scott Marshall sat alongside Lambert on the bench on Saturday, and afterwards the Villa boss said that he will ‘mull it over for a few weeks’ before appointing a new assistant. Lambert’s side are away again on Tuesday night at Crystal Palace while Burnley have another home game against Newcastle after picking up seven points from their last three games. ‘Momentum is a big factor,’ said goalkeeper Tom Heaton. ‘It shows how far we’ve come from the start of the season that we were a goal down in the Premier League and were disappointed not to have won. We’ll take a point and move forward.’
Joe Cole scored his first goal for Aston Villa in draw with Burnley .
The 33-year-old still determined to play at the highest level .
Cole was offered chance to play abroad, but wanted to stay in England .
Standing in the cold night air at Burnley, Joe Cole could have been forgiven for thinking about the grander stages he has graced in his career. The former Chelsea and England star’s mind could have wandered to the lucrative offers he turned down to finish his career abroad last summer instead of taking a pay cut to join Aston Villa on a free transfer from West Ham. But after scoring on his first Premier League start for Villa in a typically full-blooded English encounter, there was nowhere Cole would rather have been than Turf Moor. Joe Cole wheels away after scoring his first goal for Aston Villa to put them ahead at Turf Moor . Cole's strike was his first since December 2013, and came on his first start for Aston Villa in the league . ‘This is what it’s all about, playing in the Premier League,’ he said. ‘I could have gone and filled my pockets, and that’s not a criticism of the players who do that because it’s a short career and we’re not really qualified to do anything else after football. ‘I’ve been lucky enough and the fire still burns for me. I just want to play. I prefer to be in Burnley at Turf Moor than playing in the Middle East somewhere in 100 degrees. You know what I mean? It’s a proper game. ‘You have to respect the little kid who just dreamed of playing one minute in the Premier League. If you keep that in mind, you can keep playing for as long as you want.’ Cole has revealed that he turned down the opportunity to play for more money outside of England this summer . The former England midfielder is mobbed by his team-mates as Villa took the lead on Saturday . Cole knows his days at the top of the game, when he was an England regular, are behind him . At 33, the one-time prodigy of English football knows his best years are behind him. Even playing a full game might be asking too much these days. But Cole was excellent for the 67 minutes he was on the pitch, showing some of his old movement and anticipation to fire Villa ahead just before half-time and silence any doubters who question if he still has anything to offer at this level. ‘You deal with things like that,’ he added. ‘Once you get past 30 nowadays, people tend to question you. ‘They always have opinions. Have you got it, have you not got it? Are you going to be good enough to play for West Ham, for Chelsea or for England? Would I be able to go and play in France (with Lille)? ‘It’s just how you feel in yourself. I’m hungry to play, I’ve got the desire. While that’s still there, I’ll have a go.’ Danny Ings' late penalty denied Villa all three points, and Burnley almost snatched a late winner . Cole’s first goal since last December was not enough to prevent Villa’s winless run from stretching to nine games after Danny Ings equalised with a late penalty for Burnley and then hit the post in added time. That was the cue for a section of Villa’s fans to turn on manager Paul Lambert who 24 hours earlier had confirmed the shock departure of his No. 2 Roy Keane. First-team coach Scott Marshall sat alongside Lambert on the bench on Saturday, and afterwards the Villa boss said that he will ‘mull it over for a few weeks’ before appointing a new assistant. Lambert’s side are away again on Tuesday night at Crystal Palace while Burnley have another home game against Newcastle after picking up seven points from their last three games. ‘Momentum is a big factor,’ said goalkeeper Tom Heaton. ‘It shows how far we’ve come from the start of the season that we were a goal down in the Premier League and were disappointed not to have won. We’ll take a point and move forward.’
Standing in the cold night air at Burnley, Joe after scoring his first goal for Aston Villa to these days. But Cole was excellent for the 67