John Terry has launched a staunch defence of beleaguered coach Jose Mourinho, saying that any player who wanted to lose “wouldn’t get out of the dressing room”.
After the club’s 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at the weekend, it had been reported that relations between Mourinho and one unnamed player had deteriorated so much in recent weeks that the player would “rather lose than win” for the manager.
Terry denied the story before producing a spirited defence of his manager.
“Again, listen, in my whole football career I’ve never heard a player come out with those words,” he told a news conference. “In my whole career. Whether it’s been going bad or really bad. It’s ridiculous I have to sit here and talk about it.
“I’ve seen players’ faces with the disappointment after results, the feeling we’ve let the club, and the manager and the fans, down. The player wouldn’t be let out of the dressing room, let’s be honest. It wouldn’t go down too well, would it?”
Asked whether Chelsea’s poor run of form would cost Mourinho his job, Terry insisted that would not be the case.
“It’s not going to come to that,” he said. “The club have shown faith in the best manager with the best history at this club.
“In all aspects, of all the managers I’ve worked with, he’s by far and a long, long way, the best I’ve worked with. We are going to turn it around. No ifs, no buts.
“I’m sure, and I’m adamant, that 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 this club forward to where we want to be.”
Sources have suggested that Mourinho has two matches to save his job, while it has been reported that star player Eden Hazard is keen on a move to Paris-Saint Germain or Real Madrid. But Terry insisted that the best players and managers in the world should be in the Premier League.
“We’ve heard all this about Jose and Eden,” he added. “For me, we’re talking about the best manager I’ve seen in a long time at this club, and Eden being one of the best players I’ve seen at this club.
“There’s been talk of them leaving the club and going elsewhere, but for me they have to be in the Premier League. We have to keep the best people in English football, making it the best football in the world.
“The only we do that is with the best manager, Jose. And Eden is by far and away one of the best players I’ve worked with.”
Meanwhile, Terry’s team-mate Cesc Fabregas has denied that he was the dissident player reportedly happier to see Chelsea lose than win.
“I would like to clarify that contrary to a few reports from some websites, I am extremely happy at Chelsea and have an excellent relationship with the manager,” Fabregas said on Twitter.
“There may be certain individuals from the outside trying to destabilise this club but I strongly believe that we will bounce back and come good again,” added the 28-year-old Spain international.
