• Villas-Boas had said handshake was ‘extremely important’
• ‘That has to be his decision,’ says Hughes

Mark Hughes has refused to add to the pressure on Anton Ferdinand to shake John Terry’s hand before QPR’s FA Cup clash with Chelsea after André Villas-Boas claimed it was “extremely important” the player did so.

The Rangers manager said it was entirely Ferdinand’s decision whether to snub Terry during the pre-match handshake prior to Saturday’s west London derby at Loftus Road. Villas-Boas hoped and expected Ferdinand would accept Terry’s hand, despite the latter having been charged with racially abusing his fellow defender – a charge the England captain denies.

Ferdinand is reportedly agonising over whether shaking Terry’s hand could be seen as hypocritical amid claims he has been advised by Rangers that to do so would be the best course of action. But Hughes said this afternoon: “If he feels it is not appropriate, that has to be his own decision. It won’t be influenced by myself or the club.”

Asked if it was important Ferdinand did shake Terry’s hand, Villas-Boas had said: “Extremely important, extremely important”, before adding: “This game is based on good values more than anything else. These players should continue to promote these good values.”

Villas-Boas confirmed the matter had been discussed with Terry, who looks certain to offer his hand to Ferdinand. The Chelsea boss said: “Everybody has been having conversations, from the top, to the players, to the manager.”

Saturday’s game sees the players square off for the first time since allegations emerged that Terry had used a racist slur against Ferdinand during October’s Premier League match at Loftus Road. The cup tie also comes four days before Terry is expected to enter a not-guilty plea at Westminster Magistrates Court, having repeatedly denied the charge against him.

Neither Villas-Boas nor Hughes had any fears over their respective defenders’ mentality going into Saturday’s game. Villas-Boas said of Terry: “I have to count on the player, and the player is fit and available for the game.” Hughes said: “Anton is very clear in his mind, as I am, that irrespective of what surrounds the game, and the speculation and conversations, that he is fit, he is well and able to play.”

Hughes played down reports Ferdinand had spent £30,000 on personal security to ensure a trouble-free journey to Loftus Road. He joked: “We’re actually in a hotel tonight and travelling to the ground by coach so it is 30 grand he didn’t have to spend.”

Chelsea have already vowed to ban any fan found racially abusing Ferdinand from Stamford Bridge, including those who sing the now-notorious “Anton Ferdinand, you know what you are” chant.

Hughes suggested QPR stood ready to eject anyone from Loftus Road heard doing so on Saturday. He said of the chant: “I think we understand what is meant by that.”

He added: “If there is inappropriate chanting or behaviour then you get ejected from the ground and rightly so.”

Extra police have been laid on for a game which will kick-off at 12pm in a bid to limit any trouble, while both clubs issued strongly-worded statements this week warning supporters to behave. Villas-Boas admitted there were also “extra responsibilities” for both sets of players to keep calm amid what could be a hostile atmosphere on Saturday.

Chelsea had two players sent off in October’s league meeting but Villas-Boas insisted there was no need to warn his squad about their behaviour prior to kick-off on Saturday. “I won’t speak to the players specifically about that before the game, not at all,” he said, predicting the match would pass off without trouble. “The environment was outstanding the last time we played there at Loftus Road, so I expect it to be the same.”

Hughes said: “We as a club obviously have spoken quite closely with Chelsea and the police. I just hope everybody is sensible and enjoys the game for what it is, a fantastic cup tie that we’re all looking forward to.

“We basically want to be talking about the football and what happens on the pitch.”

FA CupQPRJohn TerryChelsea
guardian.co.uk

Speed of thought the new mantra for Chelsea’s manager as he looks to inject additional pace into team

Perhaps it is not so surprising that Roman Abramovich demands that his managers find that rare blend of winning and aesthetic football. Considering the match that supposedly turned him on to the game was a 4-3 extravaganza involving Manchester United and Real Madrid in April 2003, with a series of galácticos on display (Ronaldo, Luís Figo and Zinedine Zidane bewitched for the visitors while David Beckham, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Roy Keane delivered for the hosts), is it any wonder the Chelsea owner has lofty expectations? His benchmark was one of the glitziest matches in Champions League memory. There was a Harlem Globetrotters feel to an affair that dripped with so much romance it was almost sickly sweet.

For all of Chelsea’s many successes (and near misses) since Abramovich began his Stamford Bridge project, the feeling persists that he is yet to be satisfied that any of his managers has created the perfect blend of easy on the eye and peasy with the medals.

André Villas-Boas has spoken liberally – but vaguely – of the myriad things he is trying to change to bring about a new Chelsea style. In their Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen there was progress. He defines it as “speed of possession”. Coming after Fernando Torres’s public critique of the team’s velocity last week, it is an interesting development. Villas-Boas and his staff have been working hard to add speed of possession, of movement, of thinking, into Chelsea’s gameplan. So why is it important to play quicker? “Because of the nature of British football basically, because it is full of high speed and high emotion,” he says. “Maybe that is what we’re trying to transform.”

But what is striking is the way it is coming about. Chelsea are looking towards a Latin influence to make the difference. The bulk of recruits to arrive in the past year have come from southern Europe and the Americas – the technique of Juan Mata, Oriol Romeu and (if they can ignite it to the full) Torres from Spain, the dashing David Luiz and Ramires from Brazil, the subtlety of Raul Meireles from Portugal, the youthful prospect Ulises Dávila from Mexico.

Compare that to the intake from five summers ago: Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko, Ashley Cole, Wayne Bridge, Khalid Boulahrouz, Mikel John Obi and Salomon Kalou. The blueprint was generally for a muscular six-footer whose football education took place in northern Europe.

Glance around the English participants in the Champions League, and the example of the success stories from Barcelona and the Spanish national team seems to be setting an increasingly potent trend. According to Villas-Boas, the example is not so much about speed of touch but of thought. “Barcelona have redefined the notion of time and space in football,” he says. “What they have done is increase the speed of circulation of the ball by slowing the game down in their minds. In British football the game is too fast in your mind. Decision making collides with the speed and the nature of the British game.”

Can he adjust that at Chelsea? “I can propose it,” he says, mindful of the fact he is searching for a balance between new ideals with the culture of the game in the Premier League. Deep down, he does not think any other club can mimic Barcelona. “The mixture they have together is something out of this world and I don’t think it’s possible at the moment for any other club. It’s Iniesta, Xavi, Messi, Piqué. So many brought up in that school they are able to show their full potential for the first team.”

But looking for that balance between southern and northern football styles is clearly worth pursuing. It may be a trick of the eye – especially when you see Stoke City reinforced by Peter Crouch – but the Premier League seems to have become a magnet for smaller players in a way it has never been before. Where athletic prowess and physical bulk was a basic prerequisite not so long ago, now increasing numbers of dainty, nimble, ball players are running amok.

Manchester City are the most arresting example, with their agile front players weaving free-flow patterns that leave their fans giddy in more ways than one. The way that David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Samir Nasri and Carlos Tevez buzz around the final third makes them look like they would belong as comfortably in La Liga as they do in the Premier