Carlton Cole has likened Craig Bellamy to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and urged his strike partner to stay at West Ham for "a very long time".Bellamy is a January transfer target for a number of the Irons' Premier League rivals and Cole has urged the club to continue to stand firm in the face of any interest.

The pair are contrasting characters. Cole, who scored his third goal in three games on Saturday, is emerging as West Ham's silent assassin compared to the more demonstrative and demanding Wales international.

Bellamy is not shy to point out where his team-mates have gone wrong during a game and in a routine 3-0 FA Cup win over Barnsley it was full-back Julien Faubert who was most on the receiving end.

Cole admitted the ear-bashing approach can take some getting used to - but he relishes Bellamy's passion and wants him to remain alongside him at Upton Park.

"I'd love him to stay here for a very long time," said Cole.

"I don't know what's going to happen but everyone at the club wants him here. The manager wants him here, the players want him here.

"He's a great asset to the club and hopefully he stays with us.

"He's passionate about the game. If I've done something wrong he'll let me know. I say it the same way - but he'll say it louder than me! It's very constructive criticism. He reminds me of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

"We're totally different people. I don't get annoyed. I'm a patient guy. I can't be bothered with all the palaver. I just like to live my life and chill. I don't want to get into arguments.

"Craig's a fiery character. You just have to respect how he feels sometimes. He's a really nice guy. I respect him and he respects me. That's how life is."

The last time Cole scored three times in as many games was in the Chelsea youth team coached by West Ham's new assistant manager Steve Clarke.

Cole is beginning to fulfil the potential he showed in his early days at Stamford Bridge and his deft header completed a comfortable victory over Barnsley, who last year beat Liverpool and Chelsea to reach the semi-finals.

West Ham were never in any danger of suffering a similar fate. Herita Ilunga scored his first goal for the club after nine minutes and Mark Noble made it 2-0 from the penalty spot shortly before half-time.

Cole revealed West Ham were inspired by a pre-match pep-talk from manager Gianfranco Zola, who won the FA Cup twice as a player with Chelsea.

"He wants to win it again as a manager," said Cole.

"He mentioned it before the game. He said he knows how it feels, he's been in the final and won it and that he'd like to pass on that kind of pleasure to us. That's what we're trying to achieve.

"We've been in the final before against Liverpool in 2006, the year before I joined the club, and everyone's still buzzing off that.

"If I can be I want to be involved in that one day, a massive moment of history.

"It's not always the top four that get into those finals. Even Millwall did it one year, so even the teams below can do it. You never know."

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