Joe Cole has rubbished an argument over Mason Mount's place in both Chelsea and England's squads, stating that football is a "ruthless and brutal" game.
Mount came to the fore in the English game during a loan spell at Derby under Frank Lampard's tutelage, and when the manager moved to Stamford Bridge, Mount also advanced to the Chelsea first-team.
Following a largely positive time in the squad, Mount suffered a dip in form, when questions were raised over how pivotal his relationship with Lampard was to him remaining in the team.
However, both Cole and BT Sport pundit Karen Carney have rubbished the idea that Mount only played due to his relationship with Lampard - pointing out that football does not give opportunities like that to players a step below the required level.
"Mason hasn't come out and said anything, which is the smart thing," Carney told BT Sport. "Speak with your feet and do the job on the pitch. No matter whoever questions you, it doesn't matter who is the manager: I will be in that team. And that's the type of character he's shown.
"He's been abroad, yes he's been at Derby with the same manager Frank Lampard, but now Gareth Southgate and Thomas Tuchel. There's multiple managers that are picking up - he's not a 'favourite', he's an outstanding talent. We need to change that mindset as well.
"He's a driven guy. His dad told him not to sign for Chelsea. His attitude was: 'I will'. So every negative he seems to be turning into a positive.
"So if the doubters keep pushing him and getting the performances that he's giving, maybe Thomas Tuchel knew that and that's why he dropped him for the first game - he thought 'I'm going to get a reaction out of him'."
Cole added that Mount clearly plays due to his outstanding qualities, and that no favours are done in the game.
"This game is a brutal game," Cole stated. "People don't do you favours. Managers don't play you because you're a nice guy or because you brought him a cup of tea in the morning or anything like that.
"Mason plays because he's a top, top player. Frank played him, Gareth plays him, Tuchel plays him because he's going to go out there and get them a result.
"There's no favours done in football. There's nothing for being nice. Football is probably one of the most hard games to get into because of that. It's ruthless.
"Mason plays because every manager who has worked with him who sees him every day and in every game knows the quality he brings. There's no favours in football, trust me."
