"But the way he went about it, in telling the press before he told me, well that just shows his style."

Matt Jansen had put Blackburn ahead in the 25th minute of the final, after steering the ball under the legs of Spurs goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.

Christian Ziege levelled the scores eight minutes later before Cole's late strike sealed Rovers' first cup triumph for 74 years.

Asked about his goal, Cole added: "Scoring any goal is a great feeling but this was something special to score in a cup final and it's something I'll treasure."

Penalty controversy

The Worthington Cup was one of the few trophies to have eluded Cole who won the FA Cup, the Premier League and the European Cup while at Manchester United.

"It's special for me," conceded Cole, who joined Blackburn from United for �7.5m.

"I've won just about everything else before but this tops it off nicely."

Hoddle, meanwhile, defended himself in his long-running feud with the England international.

"He is a good player and I have always said that," said the Spurs manager.

"I said I thought he would do well for Blackburn and I'm sure he will do."