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Cole wants to finish career at Chelsea

Ashley Cole: 'It's hard getting up in the mornings'

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Ashley Cole has revealed he feels like a 40-year-old but the defender has his eyes set firmly on back-to-back Premier League titles before finishing his career at Chelsea.

Cole, who turns 30 in September, admitted he has reached the stage where he is plotting out the rest of his playing days, with particular mind to an aging body he said is getting harder to force out of bed each morning.

Part of that process is setting goals for what he'd like to achieve before hanging up his boots. He has won three Premier League titles, twice with Arsenal and once with Chelsea last season, but he has never enjoyed a successful title defence. That achievement, along with a Champions League success, would sate Cole's ambitions as he sees out his last few years at Stamford Bridge.

"I've never won back-to-back titles so I would say it's very hard,'' Cole told ESPN. "Chelsea of course have done it before and that's what we're aiming to do this season. I think every year the teams seem to be getting tougher. I think this year will be the toughest year, and if we do win it I think it will probably be one of the greatest achievements that I've ever done.

"I'd like to say four, but you never know,'' he said. "I've got good young players behind me at Chelsea and I hope one day they can get more games and one day take my place. But at the minute I'm just taking it year on year and seeing how the body is, because I'm 29 but I feel like 35 or 40. It's hard getting up in the mornings, but I hope to have another four years and hopefully win a few more medals and win the Champions League. I've got three more years at Chelsea and I'd love to finish my career here.''

Despite Chelsea being held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa this weekend, the opening weeks of the season have nevertheless produced an impressive return of 23 goals in eight games for Ancelotti's side. And Cole admits the sequence is a far cry from the often cagey displays during the Jose Mourinho era.

"Sometimes people get carried away and expect us to win by four or five every game,'' he said. "Before, when we used to go two up, we would sit back a bit and be happy with 2-0. But now, with the players we have, we want to kick on and score more goals. We do seem to be playing a little bit more fluent and our movement's better. I think that's showing in how many goals we're scoring.''

Cole attributes the team's new attacking outlook to the influence of Ancelotti.

He said: "I don't what it is with Carlo, he seems to be one of the lads but he knows of course when to be serious. But he joins in at training and everyone enjoys having him around. When you have someone like that around you it makes you want to fight and win for them. He brings out the best in a lot of us.''

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