Andrew Cole: Ex-Manchester United & Newcastle striker says 'no day comes easy'

Former Manchester United, Newcastle and England striker Andrew Cole has opened up about his "daily grind" in shielding from the coronavirus pandemic.

Cole is one of over a million people more vulnerable to the virus after having a kidney transplant in 2017.

The 48-year-old told BBC Radio 5 Live that "no day comes easy" as he continues to self-isolate alone.

"It's a difficult period but it's just a case of getting your head down and doing what you can," he said.

"You don't know how you're going to feel, and there are good days and bad days.

"It's a total lack of energy and you question yourself on what you did the day before, but you cannot come up with an answer because you did nothing yesterday to make you feel like you do today.

"Mentally, that is when it starts to get to you a bit."

Cole, who won 15 England caps, also played for Arsenal, Fulham, Bristol City, Blackburn, Manchester City, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Sunderland, Burnley and Nottingham Forest in a 19-year career.

He remains the third highest scorer in Premier League history with 187 goals, winning five league titles, two FA Cups and the 1999 Champions League with Manchester United, and a League Cup with Blackburn.

Cole suffered kidney failure in 2015 after contracting an airborne virus, and now says a lack of human interaction is one of the "toughest challenges".

"The first couple of weeks were not bad but the last month or so has been really difficult due to the fact you're not allowed to go out," he added.

"You can talk on the phone or on Zoom, but ultimately, the difficult part has been not being able to interact with people.

"I've been by myself and I think we will all spend more times with friends and family after this because you just don't know what's going to happen in the world nowadays."

The former striker has set up the Andy Cole Fund to raise money for kidney research, but he says raising awareness of the illness is more important than the funds.

"People do not understand how difficult an illness this is," he said.

"People ask me if I'm OK because I look really well, but I try and explain to them that I'm never going to be OK.

"However you look on the outside is not how you feel on the inside."