Carlton Cole has hit back at Chelsea fans for criticising him after he celebrated West Ham's win over them in the London derby on Wednesday night at a watchalong with Sky Sports.
The former striker began his career at Stamford Bridge but only played 31 times before spending nine seasons with the Hammers - and he defended his loyalty by insisting he spent his 'best years' with the east London outfit.
David Moyes' men secured a last-gasp 3-2 win thanks to Andriy Yarmolenko to boost their relegation hopes, and Cole said he was rooting for the club because they gave him a chance as a player and wanted them to pick up points to survive.
Cole had been watching the game alongside former Chelsea player Steve Sidwell and presenter Zac Djellab and a clip shows him celebrating wildly as West Ham took the lead for the first time - waving his hands in the air and laughing.
In a series of tweets, Cole admitted his surprise for coming under fire as he cheered the Hammers in the studio.
'How any Chelsea supporter can criticise me for celebrating West Ham scoring and winning is beyond me,' he wrote.
'Let's get this right! I'm supposed to not celebrate because you gave me a chance in my youth days? Of course I'm grateful for that but I spent my best and longest years at the Hammers, who gave me a chance too, and continue to give me support in my coaching development.
'Plus, we needed the points to stay in the league. Circumstances have made it this way. Not that I don't want Chelsea to do well, but I'd celebrate like that against any team we grinded a win from, especially in these times...
'Don't be bitter. Chelsea will always hold a special place in my heart.
'Show me loyalty and respect and I'll show it back. Loyalty and respect is earned not demanded.'
He started off his career as a trainee with the Blues in 2000, but never managed to nail down a regular place in the team.
The former England international played a total of 31 games, scoring eight times and was sent out on three loans to Wolves, Charlton and Aston Villa.
In 2006 he signed for West Ham on a four year deal and began to become an important figure, going on to play 293 games for the club with 68 strikes.
Cole retired in 2018, and has since been named as a club ambassador and later was given the chance to coach the Under 16s by shadowing youth coach Jack Collison.
He has ambitions to keep progressing as a coach and recently spoke about his experience of guiding the club's youngsters.
'There are certain things I saw the youngsters doing. They didn’t have a striking coach and that’s obviously my main thing, he told City AM.
'"He’s not moving right, I wouldn’t do it that way", so automatically you’re coaching already. It’s about trying to feed it to the players and give them advice.'