Why evergreen Cole is having a ball at Burnley

He does not need the work, and he certainly does not need the money.

Having commanded nearly £17million in transfer fees and played for some of the biggest clubs in the land, Cole has enough in the bank to light up a big cigar and call it a day.

He could travel the world or make the most of family life with his wife and two children in the corner of Cheshire where he rubs shoulders with so many other millionaire footballers.

Instead, at 36, he has chosen to throw himself into the rough and tumble of the Championship with Burnley, the unfashionable Lancashire club where both Ian Wright and Paul Gascoigne pitched up in the twilight of their careers.

Wright's four goals helped Burnley to promotion eight years ago, but Cole has arguably outshone him already by scoring four in his first three games — including a hat-trick at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.

He had not scored in 10 months and his last hat-trick came more than seven years ago when he broke Denis Law's European record for Manchester United in a game against Anderlecht.

But what persuaded him to drop to a level where he knows he might be a target for every hatchet man looking for a big scalp? The answer is simple: for the fun of it.

That might seem odd to anybody who has followed Cole's career over two decades at 11 different clubs. The somewhat surly expression and detached demeanour have become as much a trademark of his play as the goals which bring a momentary smile to his face.

But those who know him best insist that is unfair. When the flight to London on Tuesday was delayed for four hours by fog, some wondered how he would react.

But Cole waited patiently and chatted with boss Owen Coyle and his team-mates.

'It would be easy for him to get in a strop but he was just focused on the game,' said Coyle.

'I was never in any doubt what Andrew would offer. The biggest thing when we sat down was whether he had the hunger and desire to play at a high level. I think he's shown that.'

Cole admits it was the Burnley boss who persuaded him to quit the Sunderland bench and seek a happier working life on loan at Turf Moor.

'He just told me to come in and enjoy myself and I've done that,' said Cole. 'It's about enjoying it for me now.

'Owen's enthusiasm for football and wanting me to come here and enjoy myself was enough for me. We're all playing for the manager. His enthusiasm makes me feel 21 again.'

There are others like Cole. His old United strike partners Dwight Yorke and Teddy Sheringham are soldiering on at Sunderland and Colchester.

Dion Dublin is still pulling on his boots at Norwich.

But compare their attitude to so many old pros who fall out of love with the game when they are forced to join a smaller club in search of regular football or decide that the good life is a much more attractive option to getting out of bed for training every day.

Only last week John Hartson quit aged 32 after leaving West Bromwich Albion, saying: 'They say you should go down the Leagues and just play for enjoyment because it will be easier — it is not.

'I'm not going to miss training, though. I've been fighting my weight for 12 years and I can't have a burger without putting on half-a-stone.'

Cole was faced with a similar choice when he realised he was not going to get much playing time under Roy Keane at Sunderland — his seventh club in three-and-a-half years.

But he decided to give Burnley a try and might yet reconsider plans to retire in the summer.

'It has been difficult at Sunderland,' he said. 'If this is to be my last season then I really want to make the most of it. But it hasn't worked out that way.

'So when the opportunity came to play at Burnley I thought why not?

'I want to try to finish on a high and then, when I get to the end of the season, I will make my mind up whether I want to play on or if my legs can carry me.

'I still have the same appetite to play and win games.'