Sam Allardyce may have been ready to sell Carlton Cole in January, but the West Ham boss is now backing the striker to score goals for him after fellow striker Andy Carroll was ruled out for the rest of the season.
West Ham pulled the plug on Cole's potential switch to West Brom in the closing minutes of transfer deadline day after their own attempts to land Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor on loan failed. The Hammers are now travelling to the Hawthorns for their FA Cup fifth-round clash on Saturday.
The 31-year-old Cole, whose contract at Upton Park expires in the summer, was left frustrated as the deal was called off and revealed he ended up having a heated phone conversation with Allardyce as he was left in limbo and down the Hammers pecking order.
But another long-term injury for club-record signing Carroll has cleared a path to the first-team for Cole, who started Wednesday night's 0-0 draw at Southampton and is likely to lead the line again when West Ham travel for their lunchtime appointment with Tony Pulis' West Brom.
Allardyce insists any ill-feeling from Cole about the breakdown of his January move has been forgotten and he is glad to still have the former Chelsea man in his ranks.
"He's a very important player for us," he said of Cole. "Certainly he comes more into focus now that Andy is out for a few weeks as well.
"The fact he is there for us, he has never let us down. If needed on Saturday, hopefully he comes up with the goal. That would be very nice for us and him.
"His character is such that he loves training and he loves football. He is a very pleasant, very bubbly character and he is one of those lads that doesn't throw the toys out of the pram for too long.
"He comes in and enjoys his life, enjoys training, enjoys playing football. He had a big disappointment, but he hasn't let that affect him too much, which I'm very pleased about."
West Brom boss Tony Pulis praised West Ham for their honesty during the negotiations, which had seen Cole agree a deal and pass a medical with the club before having to return to Upton Park.
"That's the way it spins at times," he said. "There was never a deal to be done unless West Ham agreed to it, which was right through to the last minutes of the negotiations.
"West Ham had said right from the start, they were very upfront and very honest, they had to bring someone in before they would let Carlton go, and we understood that.
"Both clubs thought it was going to be done at one stage, but it wasn't, which is no fault of West Ham's whatsoever.
"(West Ham co-chairman) David Sullivan even called our chairman (Jeremy Peace) and spoke to him, and that shows you how disappointed both parties were."
With summer signings Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho giving Allardyce more attacking options than at any other point in his time at West Ham, Cole is not getting the minutes he wants.
With Carroll's knee surgery promoting Cole up the order at Upton Park, Allardyce has praised the seven-capped England international's continued commitment to the collective cause.
"He hasn't played as much as he would have liked, obviously, but when it comes to an FA Cup contribution, he scored the most important goal of all for us until now, when he came on against Everton in extra-time."
