Ashley Cole says Sven Goran Eriksson was the best national manager he worked with and made him 'enjoy playing for England'

• Ashley Cole says media pressure inhibited England teams
• Cole claims Sven Goran Eriksson 'let you be yourself'
• Roma full back also claims Chelsea players didn't want to work hard for AVB 

Former England left back Ashley Cole says that Sven Goran Eriksson was the best national team coach he ever worked under.

The Roma defender, who won 107 caps before being left out of Roy Hodgson's World Cup squad this summer, played under Eriksson at two World Cups.

And although Eriksson's reign was seen at the time as a failure of the 'Golden generation' to win a major tournament, England have failed to reach a World Cup quarter-final since. 

Ashley Cole played under Sven Goran Eriksson, who was his favourite England coach, at two World Cups

Cole and David Beckham, two of England's 'golden generation', played together throughout Eriksson's spell 

'He let you be yourself,' Cole told Italian TV. 'We enjoyed playing for England.' 

The 33-year-old also claims that he felt under pressure during his international career because of unrealistic expectation.

'Our media always depicted England as one of the best in the world, when we rarely were,' Cole said. 'That added pressure.'see more pics

Cole has won 107 caps for England, but was dropped by Roy Hodgson before the World Cup in Brazil

Cole is now playing at Roma, but spoke out about the managers he played for while at Chelsea

The former Chelsea defender also spoke about club managers in his interview with Sky Italia, claiming that the Chelsea players put in more effort for some than others.

'People worked harder for Robbie [Di Matteo] than Andre Villas-Boas,' Cole said. Di Matteo won the Champions League in his short stint at the club, while AVB was sacked after just under a year.

Former international Ashley Cole training during England career