Chelsea v Dynamo Kiev, Stamford Bridge, 7.45pm, BT Sport 2, Setanta
John Terry has sought to deflect criticism from Chelsea's beleaguered manager by suggesting the club's players are far more culpable for the team's recent toils and insisting the ailing champions will "turn this season around".
Chelsea confront Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League tonight having won only once in eight matches in all competitions. Their title defence has spluttered miserably with six defeats in 11 matches having left them languishing 15th while José Mourinho, publicly backed by the board, has been the subject of disciplinary action from the Football Association.
He will be banned from Stoke’s Britannia stadium on Saturday, subject to an appeal, as a result of being sent to the stands during the recent loss to West Ham and is still waiting to discover if a separate £50,000 (€70,000) fine and suspended one-match stadium ban, for comments made after the defeat against Southampton, will stand.
There have been rumours of player revolts behind the scenes against Mourinho’s stewardship and even one suggestion, from a third party but broadcast as fact on radio, that an unnamed player would rather “lose than win” for the Portuguese.
Ridiculous allegations
Terry (34) whose contract at Stamford Bridge expires in the summer, described those allegations as “ridiculous”.
Asked how he and the players would feel if the team’s dismal form ultimately cost the manager his job, the captain said: “It’s not going to come to that. The club have shown faith in the best manager with the best history at this club.
“Of all the managers I’ve worked with, and in all aspects, he’s by far and a long, long way the best. We are going to turn it around. No ifs, no buts. I’m sure. I’m adamant we’ll turn this around and he’ll be in charge for the rest of the season and long after I’ve finished playing for this club. He is the man to take Chelsea forward to where we want to be.”
Responsibility for the team’s worst start to a Premier League campaign, argued Terry, lay with the players rather than the coaching staff. “He’s under pressure because of the way we’re performing,” he said. “He’s very demanding and is devastated after poor results, taking it all on his shoulders, but he can do all the work he wants on the training field and in team meetings.
“Once we step over that white line it’s on us. We know we need to be better, collectively, for this club and for him. . . ”
Scrutiny
Terry baulked at the suggestion players within the squad might be happier if the team lost to place the manager’s position under greater scrutiny. “In my whole football career I’ve never heard a player come out with those words,” he said.
“Whether it’s been going badly or really badly. It’s ridiculous I have to sit here and even talk about it.” Mourinho was just as dismissive of those allegations. “It’s a very sad accusation because you are accusing the players, or more than one player – I don’t know which – of dishonesty,” he said. “They are giving their best in every minute of every training session.”
The manager, who expects to see out the four-year contract he signed in August, lost Radamel Falcao to a “muscular injury” in training on Tuesday.
Diego Costa is expected to feature against Dynamo despite still suffering discomfort in his ribs, a legacy of the League Cup loss at Stoke, while Branislav Ivanovic has recovered from a hamstring injury.
– (Guardian service)
