John Terry Hopeful Of Chelsea Stay

Captain John Terry is hopeful of remaining at Chelsea as he reaches the end of his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Captain John Terry is hopeful of remaining at Chelsea as he reaches the end of his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Terry indicated in January that he would not be offered a new deal at the club, where he has played his entire career, though his future remains unclear with incoming manager Antonio Conte not arriving until after Euro 2016.

But the 35-year-old, who has played over 700 times for Chelsea and has won four league titles and the Champions League, is hopeful of playing for another couple of seasons.

Chelsea maintain Terry could yet be offered a one-year extension, the club’s policy for those aged over 30, but the defender could accept a lucrative offer to play in America’s MLS, China or the Middle East.

He told Fenners on Soccer AM’s Boot Room: “I’ve got a couple of years left. Definitely I intend to keep playing, hopefully that’s at Chelsea, but if not it will be somewhere else.

“I am definitely feeling good physically and I intend to play as long as I can. As a professional footballer you’re a long time retired, so I think not only for myself but for all of us we should get the most out of it and enjoy it while it’s there.”

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Terry remembered how he would clean boots for the likes of Dennis Wise, Eddie Newton and David Lee in the mid-1990s at Chelsea, and says younger players are nowadays far too detached from senior members of the squad.

Asked by Fenners whether young players should still be cleaning boots and performing duties, Terry said: “I think so, and it’s the interaction as well, you’d have the responsibility firstly of cleaning the players’ boots and making sure they’re in the skip ready for the next game.

Terry, now 35, has played over 700 times for Chelsea

“Nowadays it’s all on the kit men. The academy boys and the reserve boys are over in another building. The separation is too much for me.

“If I was the FA or PFA, I’d go back to have them doing boots and a little bit of duties. That would be the one for me.”