Rafael Benitez is weighing up whether to risk John Terry from the start against Arsenal tomorrow as he battles to improve Chelsea’s poor home form.Stamford Bridge was the scene of more unrest this week after Southampton came back from two goals down to deny the European champions victory, and the interim manager believes his side may have missed the presence their captain brings.Terry played 10 minutes against Stoke after eight weeks out with a knee injury but did not feature in Wednesday’s 2-2 draw.‘It’s important to have players with character on the pitch if you want to manage a game like the other day,’ said Benitez yesterday.‘We have some good players. Some of them show more character. Others show different qualities. Sometimes we miss these things.‘He’s one of the strong characters we have. To have people with this mentality can help. Hopefully he will be fine. We will see a positive influence,’ Rafa added.‘We are working very hard with John and we’ll see how he feels. You have to see your players in every training session and afterwards decide.‘Today was a light session, with the snow, and he was training with the team, doing everything.’ A photo of Terry signing autographs with Branislav Ivanovic was put on Chelsea’s Twitter feed.‘He had his specific programme and was doing well,’ said Benitez. ‘If I ask him, or anyone, they’d say they want to play. I prefer not to ask and decide at the end.’Benitez remains an unpopular figure at the Bridge, with defeats by QPR and Swansea preceding the draw against Southampton, and the Spaniard knows owner Roman Abramovich expects him to win every competition entered.But Benitez said he would prefer such circumstances to those of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who has stayed in his job despite eight years without a trophy.‘He has won a lot, and that is the reason why,’ said Benitez. ‘The way they won means they have confidence in him.’But he added: ‘I like to be under pressure if I can win a trophy. To be in the middle of the table and stay there for 10 years is not my idea. I come from Real Madrid and there finishing second is not acceptable.’Benitez continued: ‘We know since the arrival of people with big money, the Premier League has changed a bit. To manage a club with common sense used to be fine.‘To have a good manager like Arsene Wenger was fine and you could achieve things. Now it’s a different world with clubs with big money. You cannot compare.’
Popular Posts
-
The Argentine forward explained that the Portuguese let rip at his players after seeing them fall two goals behind in the opening 45...
-
R eal Sociedad hit back from two goals down to end Barcelona's unbeaten Primera Division record in stunning fashion at the Anoeta t...
-
Roddick beat Roger Federer 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-4 in the third round. American Andy Roddick upset third seed Roger Federer 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-...
-
Ferenc Puskas formerly held the record for the fastest player to reach 100 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo became the fastest player to reac...
-
The coveted berth came with a 47-run victory over Namibia in the first final of the 16-nation qualifying tournament. In a battle of tw...
-
Tom Boonen closed in on the overall victory by protecting his lead on the penultimate day. Cavendish secured his second stage win in th...
-
The PCB surprised by this late reaction from the Bangladesh board, said an official. Bangladesh have reacted too late in trying to hav...
-
Robin Van Persie has joined Manchester United to "achieve greatness", with the striker stating that the club are a perfect mat...
-
The Pakistani fast bowler, Wahab Riaz, has been re-called in to the Pakistan Test squad to face England in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment