Mourinho's hand at work in England's World Cup bid

LONDON, May 18 (Reuters) John Terry and Joe Cole believe their Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho has given England a helping hand in their bid for World Cup glory.

Two consecutive Premier League titles bear the hallmark of the Portuguese manager and his players are convinced they can take that winners' mindset with them to Germany.

Terry, the Chelsea captain, Cole and midfielder Frank Lampard are all destined for leading roles in England's latest tilt at winning a major trophy 40 years after their solitary success at the 1966 World Cup.

''It's been very good for me at club level this season and over the last couple of years the players at Chelsea have grown in confidence,'' Terry told reporters at England's Portugal training camp.

''Jose Mourinho instils a winning mentality in you at Chelsea and we are bringing that into the England squad. You can see the confidence of the Chelsea boys around the place.

''We have won the title for the second year in a row and we're very proud of that. We have had a great season for Chelsea and we need to take that into the England side and the World Cup.'' Cole owes Mourinho a particular debt, having been transformed from a squad player who never quite made the grade for club or country into being a first-team regular for both.

Once seen as a luxury player, Mourinho has given Cole the steel and discipline to make a real impact for Chelsea, with the bonus being a place in England's starting lineup in Germany.

ON THE BENCH Looking back on his long hours spent on the bench at Euro 2004, Cole told reporters: ''When I came back from Portugal two years ago, I vowed I would never get to another tournament and not play a single game.

''Since then, things have gone very well for me. I've worked really hard and, of course, the manager at Chelsea has helped me as well.

''We've got used to winning things at Chelsea and I want to continue that with England.'' Though Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole will head for Germany after losing the Champions League final with Arsenal, Chelsea's first-teamers will be joined by Liverpool's FA Cup final winners Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.

''It's great because we won the Premiership title, Liverpool won the FA Cup and everyone has had that taste of winning and that taste of success,'' Terry said. ''And everyone wants more in their career.'' Paying tribute to Gerrard's double-strike against West Ham United in Cardiff, the Chelsea defender said: ''He was unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable.

''He's certainly done it at Liverpool, he's done it with England too and I'm sure he will do it in the World Cup as well.'' England open their campaign at the finals in Group B against Paraguay on June 10, before going on to face Trinidad and Tobago and then Sweden.

REUTERS