Ashley Cole recently joined Derby County and Stuart Pearce has compared him with ex-West Ham man Patrice Evra.
Stuart Pearce believes Derby County’s new signing Ashley Cole can have the same impact Patrice Evra had on West Ham last season.
Former Premier League winner Evra moved to the London Stadium in January 2018 when Pearce was assistant to manager David Moyes.
During his brief time at the club, Evra helped the Hammers avoid relegation and finish the season with two wins from their final three matches.
Nonetheless, Pearce expects Ashley’s experience to benefit the Derby dressing room as he compared him with West Ham’s former man.
“Patrice didn’t play a great deal,” Pearce told the Debate show on Sky Sports on 22/01/2019 at 10:50 pm. “But in the six months, he was with us, you could tell the respect the rest of the group had. His words in the dressing room.
“He almost had David Moyes’ back in pushing the words that David wanted to impose on the players, he backed that up all the time. I’m fully expecting Ashley to do the same.”
Following the end of his short-term contract at the London Stadium, Evra left the club in the summer, with Moyes and Pearce being removed from the management setup.
Left-back Cole, who was recently plying his trade in the MLS, will be hoping to help his former teammate Frank Lampard to a top-six finish in the Championship.
The Rams currently occupy the final playoff spot and are two points ahead of seventh-placed Bristol City in the table ahead of their FA Cup encounter against Accrington at the weekend.
It remains to be seen if Cole will be given his debut by Lampard, whose side knocked out Premier League Southampton in the previous round.
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