West Ham United striker Carlton Cole has called for maximum effort ahead of his side's showdown with Blackpool this weekend.

The Hammers, who finished two points adrift of automatic promotion, take on the Tangerines for the right to return to the Premier League next season. Meanwhile, despite their status as favourites, Cole insists that there is still a task to be done.

"You can call us favourites," he told the club's official website. "We still need to go in there, set our stall out and give 100% from the beginning.

"I think we are on form at the moment so let's take that into this game too.

"It's a final so anything can happen. People do the unexpected when emotions are running high. It's up to us to control the situation and put in the best performance we can."

Cole and company beat Cardiff City 5-0 on aggregate to reach the playoff final.