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CAPITAL-ONE CUP WIN: John Terry, right, got his
hands on some silverware on Sunday
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John Terry is determined to enjoy a successful
conclusion to his Chelsea career by continuing to confound his critics. Terry scored the opening goal in a man-of-the-match
display in Chelsea's Capital One Cup final victory over Tottenham on Sunday.
It was the first trophy of Jose Mourinho's second
spell as Blues boss, with Terry still a central figure 10 years after the
Portuguese's first Stamford Bridge silverware in the same competition.
Press Association report continues:
34-year-old Terry, who is adored by many in football
and loathed by some, hopes to earn an extension to his contract which expires
at the end of the current campaign.
"I am fighting for myself and my family, and to
prove people wrong," Terry said.
"It doesn't come much bigger than that. I want
to give it everything. I don't know how long I have left. Hopefully I
have a few years left but if this is my last year then I hope it will go out on
a bang. I have my little target to play next year but
beyond that, two or three years (more), I don't know."
Asked if he would play for another club, Terry
added: "No, and I also think there's a right time to go as well.
"Certainly I am feeling great at the minute and
it would be the wrong time to go. But there does come a point where it would be
the right time to go, to say it's time to move on and people will remember you
that way."
It seems unthinkable that Chelsea will determine that
time to be at the end of this season, by which time the Blues skipper may have
led them to a first Premier League title in five years.
Chelsea policy dictates that players over the age of
30 are granted 12-month deals.
Terry signed his current deal 48 hours after the end
of last season - Mourinho's first back at Stamford Bridge - and could be made
to wait until the end of the current campaign before a new deal is negotiated.
"The uncertainty has helped me positively, not
having four or five years (under contract) as you get older.
"The roles have reversed and now the power is
in the club's hands. That has inspired me."
Terry admitted his emotions were stirred on hearing
the national anthem at Wembley, but he has no plans to reconsider his
retirement from England duty.
He retired from international football in 2012 after
being banned for four matches by the Football Association, despite being
cleared at Westminster Magistrates Court of making a racist insult to then QPR
defender Anton Ferdinand, brother of his long-time England central defensive
partner Rio.
He is still considered by many to be England's
leading defender, but has no intention of making himself available to Roy
Hodgson.
"I have missed it, playing in these big
stadiums and in these competitions and I'm delighted to get back to
Wembley," Terry said.
"They started playing the national anthem
before the game and I was going then."
Asked if he was considering an England return,
Terry, who earned 78 caps, added: "No. It's the simple answer, I don't
want to go into it right now.
"Being back at Wembley, the atmosphere, the
stadium, it's one of the best I have played in, but it's never crossed my mind. I have drawn a line under it and the England
squad can move on now."
His goal was his first in a major final and he is
targeting further success this season, with Chelsea in possession of a
five-point Premier League lead over second-placed Manchester City, who lost at
Liverpool on Sunday.
Chelsea, who have a game in-hand, play at West Ham
on Wednesday.
"It was important to get our first trophy
together," Terry added. "I spoke in the week about this being a
springboard, like it did when the manager came in in 2004-05. It had that
effect then and hopefully it does now. We
are delighted to see City lose points, but we go again on Wednesday and it's
another tough one. It's a derby but we want the three points."
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