England left-back Leighton Baines has admitted that it will not be easy for him to replace Ashley Cole in the starting lineup.

Baines is expected to start against Moldova away from home in the Three Lions' 2014 World Cup qualifier on Friday, as Cole is out with injury.

"Ashley has been fantastic over the years," he said. "It has been difficult for anyone to get a look in.

"The main thing, for club and country, is his consistency. He is one of the first names on the team sheet because he is such a reliable performer. He is an eight out of 10 minimum every week.

"We often depend on him. He is someone, for the rest of us, for Ryan [Bertrand] and myself and Kieran Gibbs, who is not in the squad but is a young left-back coming through, to look at and try to learn from."

Baines made his debut for England in 2010 but has not made a single competitive start so far.