Terry: I have so much to learn

14 April 2012

John Terry returns to club action for Chelsea against Birmingham tonight determined to maintain the form he showed in England's 0-0 draw with Turkey.

Terry was one of England's outstanding performersin Istanbul, showing great composure for a young man winning only his fourth full cap in the most hostile of environments.

But he is taking nothing for granted and the 22-year-old expects Rio Ferdinand - the man he replaced at the heart of England's defence on Saturday - to emerge stronger from the furore surrounding his failure to take a drugs test. He also admitted he will have to improve to keep hold of his place in the national side.

Terry said: "I think I have a lot to learn regarding England but I was happy with my game. All that I can do now is to keep playing well for Chelsea. Rio is a good defender and will be back before long.

"It was good to play alongside Sol Campbell. It's the second time I've played with him for England and it was brilliant."

Terry is revelling in his elevation to Sven-Goran Eriksson's starting lineup, having played every minute of England's last four games, and today praised his team-mates' fighting spirit against Turkey. The former Under-21 captain defended his involvement in the tunnel row and believes the ugly scenes showed the team's togetherness.

He said: "I was amazed at how everyone stood together in Turkey. The team spirit was incredible. No one likes what happened in the tunnel at half time - that's not football. But every single one of us was there for each other, shoulder to shoulder like brothers.

"We saw Alpay having a go at David Beckham and then a lot of pushing and shoving. Gary Neville and I just got in there to calm things down. I can remember grabbing two Turkey players and shoving them to one side to get them away from the melee. The security guards moved in and the incident was sorted quickly.

"It was all just a lot of gestures and a bit of pushing but it said a lot about this team. It wasn't a great football spectacle but, sometimes, team spirit can be just as important for winning matches and tournaments."

Terry also criticised Aston Villa defender Alpay, saying he deserves to be abused by supporters when he returns for Villa against Birmingham this weekend. He added: "If he gets a load of stick, he only has himself to blame. He deserves it as what he did was totally unprofessional."

Terry's international status may be on the rise but he still has no guarantee of playing for Chelsea tonight. Marcel Desailly (back) and William Gallas (shin) have shaken off injuries and Claudio Ranieri could choose to rest Terry.

Adrian Mutu and Hernan Crespo are likely to replace Eidur Gudjohnsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink up front, but Emmanuel Petit (knee) and Celestine Babayaro ( hamstring) are still out.

Chelsea need a point to return to the top of the Premiership and Desailly believes that would give them a huge lift ahead of Saturday's visit to Arsenal. Desailly said: "If we win at Birmingham that would be great because if we go to Arsenal as Premiership leaders that will give us a psychological advantage."

Birmingham v Chelsea, St Andrews, 7.45pm

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Terry: I have so much to learn

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