England are yet to convince under Capello, but Cole believes it is unfair to cast judgment on the basis of five friendlies and one competitive fixture against a side intent only on damage limitation.

Cole said: "It is two different animals – Saturday night was all about making sure we went and got the job done, coming out with the maximum points and picking up no injuries.

"Playing Croatia will be different. You will have to judge to see how far we have come after Wednesday night."

Yet despite the low-key nature of the win over Andorra, Cole can already sense that Capello's intensity and determination have lifted.

The Chelsea midfielder said: "We saw (something) a little bit different from the manager last night.

"I was sitting on the bench in the first half and he was very animated and very frustrated. You like to see a bit of that in your manager sometimes.

"He was up and down, ranting and raving and I got the feeling the business has really started now.

"He is getting his message across and we have been working really hard. We have had so many meetings on how we want to play and different tactics."

Cole believes Capello's thorough approach and discipline will pay off as England move through the qualifying campaign.

He said: "If we are going to do anything we have to take our mould from the Germans and Italians because they are so tactically astute. We are never going to be able to play like the Brazilians, Argentinians or the Spanish or Dutch – we need to be really solid. We are getting that and hopefully our natural ability will always be able to score us goals. We really need to be solid first and foremost."