Roberto Di Matteo dispels talk of Chelsea player power and says John Terry is helping to boost team spirit
Roberto Di Matteo has dismissed the suggestion that John Terry acted as a de facto manager on the touchline during Chelsea’s exhilarating Champions League victory over Napoli, claiming the behaviour was part of the “spirit of sacrifice” the interim head coach is trying to instil at the club.
“I expect all my players to be responsible and help each and reinforce messages I give before and during the game,” Di Matteo said when asked about Terry appearing to direct operations after being substituted during the encounter.
“It was not just him. The other players on the pitch were helping other members of the team to win this game.”
The difference was that Terry was in the dugout, the issue of player-power at the club has risen again following Andre Villas-Boas’s brutal dismissal and the defender has also, previously, made no secret of his desire to eventually manage Chelsea.
In fairness to Terry, he was supportive of the former manager and is certainly not one of the senior players being blamed for his demise even if, at times, the captain’s strong influence at Chelsea has been questioned and has caused difficulties.
Di Matteo said the players were “annoyed” at the suggestions, made publicly by former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and the Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny that they “ran the club”.
“They are annoyed because it’s not true,” Di Matteo added. “It’s a perception outside people have, it’s not true.”