The Reds completed the easiest of 4-0 aggregate victories over Rabotnicki after beating the Macedonians 2-0 at Anfield last night in their Europa League third qualifying round second-leg tie.

Although the display - particularly those from new signings Cole and Milan Jovanovic - was encouraging no-one will be fooled by a performance in what was effectively a pre-season friendly between two sides at the opposite ends of the footballing spectrum.

When Liverpool next appear at Anfield it will be on Sunday week when they host Arsenal in what is the biggest fixture of the opening weekend of the league season.

By then Cole hopes he and his team-mates will have moved up a gear, but even then the England international stressed Roy Hodgson's side should be judged over an entire season and not just the first few matches.

However, the start of the previous campaign under former manager Rafael Benitez set the tone as they lost two of their first three matches and went on to post their worst Premier League finish, seventh, for over a decade.

This time around is even tougher with the Gunners and both Manchester clubs to play in the first five fixtures.

"We've had two [competitive] games now and we've got Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Pepe Reina and the others to come back," said Cole.

"We've got a lot to work on and there is a lot for us to do. We've got to come together and continue to improve.

"We have to keep working hard every day on the training pitch and go from there. We know we've got a long way to go.

"You can't assess anything on the first six games of the season, you have to judge us in May.

"All Premier League games are tough; sometimes the ones that seem easier are the ones that turn out to be the tougher ones."

Cole's arrival on a free transfer from Chelsea was seen as a significant development as it brought a renewed wave of optimism to a club which is still currently dominated by takeover talk.

He did much to enhance his relationship with the Anfield faithful after a promising home debut against Rabotnicki and the 28-year-old is determined to cement his place in the supporters' affections.

"I loved it, playing for Liverpool for the first time at Anfield," said the midfielder, who was given his preferred central attacking role in front of Steven Gerrard and behind lone striker David Ngog.

"It would have been nice to get a goal but I'm just pleased to be a part of this great team.

"I love playing centrally and playing alongside Stevie Gerrard is really enjoyable.

"It's always special to play at Anfield in front of the Kop and I just want to work hard for these supporters and try to make sure we get some good results for them."

England team-mate Gerrard is confident Cole can help bring success back to a club which has not won a trophy since 2006.

"Our fans pay good money to see us play good football and I thought Joe was brilliant in his first game at Anfield," said the Reds captain.

"I'm sure there's plenty more trickery to see from him in the future.

"Joe is a good player who will create goals and score them but fans saw a different side to his game as his work-rate was phenomenal and we need more of that.

"We are hoping this will be a successful season for the club and I'm sure Joe will enjoy it here and have a big part to play.

"He wants success and so do we and hopefully we will get that in the future.

"It's a fresh start when a new manager comes in and expectations rise but rightly so.

"We've got a good manager here and he has brought some good additions into the squad.

"Hopefully there will be a few more to come and I don't see why this can't be a successful season for us."