Oct 5 2012: You t**ts VS May 28 2013: I'm skipper

ASHLEY COLE stunned the FA by accepting an offer to captain England tonight — seven months after calling them “a bunch of t**ts”.

Cole, 32, leads the Three Lions against Ireland at Wembley as a reward for passing 100 caps, despite being fined £90,000 for his Twitter rant.

England boss Roy Hodgson expected him to turn down the gesture — as he had done previously. But he shocked FA bigwigs by saying yes.

CAPTAIN'S LOG ... Ashley Cole signs for an England fan yesterday

Cole took the armband on the condition he would not fulfil the skipper’s duty of speaking to the media.

Instead Frank Lampard appeared alongside Hodgson yesterday, sparking confusion when the manager stated he would be captain for the actual game in the absence of the injured Steven Gerrard.

Initially speaking to TV, Hodgson said: “It’s actually Ashley’s 102nd appearance. Frank and I are happy that he will lead the team out but Frank remains the captain.”

However, Hodgson later clarified that Chelsea defender Cole will be skipper throughout the friendly.

He confirmed: “The England captain is Ashley Cole.

“And the reason he’s not here is the one you’ve already twigged — to accept the captaincy, he wanted to be captain of the team on the night, lead the team on the field, do his talking with his feet.

“Frank is here to fulfil the other functions.”

Cole, who reached 100 caps against Brazil in February, apologised to the FA for his tweet which came in response to accusations that he had changed his evidence in the John Terry racism trial.

Hodgson said: “I find Ashley a charming person, a fantastic footballer.”