• Chelsea captain explains armband celebration
• Terry: ‘I was just giving the Stoke fans a bit of banter’
Frank Lampard says John Terry will emerge stronger from the abuse to which he has been subjected from opposing teams’ supporters over the last few weeks. The deposed England captain was targeted by Stoke City fans at Stamford Bridge yesterday following the allegations over his private life which had prompted Fabio Capello to strip him of the England armband.
Terry responded with a fine performance, capped by an assist and the headed goal which sealed Chelsea’s 2-0 FA Cup success, with his manic celebrations – pointing at the armband and staring fixedly at the visiting support – a response to the abuse he had been receiving.
“We all get that, to an extent,” said Lampard. “I’ve had that at times, and John got it against Stoke. Sometimes the abuse does overstep the mark, but strong players just react in positive ways. That’s what John did. We’ll play and move on – that’s the best answer we can give, really. These things happen.”
“I was just giving the Stoke fans a bit of banter, that was all,” said Terry of his celebration. “They were giving me a bit of stick and I was just giving a bit back. That is what football is about. They are entitled to do what they do and so am I on the pitch as long as they take it in the right manner. I am sure they did. You just get on with it as a player.
“One way to get through it is to play well, and to score was the icing on the cake. Chelsea have been very supportive and I would like to thank everyone for that, but the main thing was we came back from a disappointing result and performance last week.”
Recovering from that 4-2 defeat to Manchester City was critical, with Chelsea having now surrendered the lead in the Premier League to Manchester United, albeit with the London club still having a game in hand. Carlo Ancelotti’s team retain hope of silverware on three fronts – they must overcome a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Internazionale in the Champions League next week – though the players have acknowledged that they must muster consistent form over the final three months of the season to gain tangible reward.
“Everyone has results like that City match, they can happen,” added Lampard. “Maybe it can serve as a kick in the right direction and we can react positively. I think we did that in the week up to the Stoke game. Hopefully, it can make us more aware and make sure we get back on it, especially at home, for the rest of the season. We’ve got it in us to go on a consistent run. Every team has faltered at times this season, but this is a time to kick on in the league. It’s very important now that the team pushes on and goes on a consistent run. All we can do is concentrate on winning games.”
John TerryChelseaDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk
