Andy Cole has revealed how he was made to feel “small” by a perceived snub from Teddy Sheringham that led to the England pair not talking.
The former Manchester United striker played alongside Sheringham at Old Trafford for four years but did not enjoy a relationship with his compatriot following an incident on international duty.
Cole made his England debut from the bench in a 0-0 friendly draw with Uruguay in 1995 and, in replacing then-Tottenham forward Sheringham, felt the lack of acknowledgement from his future United team-mate was disrespectful.
“From my England debut against Uruguay, he was going to be substituted for me to come on to replace him, and he snubbed me on the line,” Cole said.
“I just thought to myself, ‘I’m making my debut here and Wembley is a packed house.’ And I felt so small.
“I don’t think his apology would come, because I honestly do believe that he believes he was not in the wrong.”
Despite a fantastic goalscoring record at club level, Cole only made 15 international appearances and scored just once – famously calling former England boss Glenn Hoddle a ‘coward’ for announcing he was dropping Cole through the press.
“I don’t think it was damaging to my career,” Cole said of his remarks.
“I just think a lot of the media and a lot of Joe Public picked up on that and ran with it and ran with it, and exhausted it. And I remember when it came out, I mean of course it was going to be massive news. He was the England manager.”