Terry explains why he wants to become a manager

Matt Stead

Outgoing Chelsea captain John Terry will this week decide whether to hang up his boots or fully focus on his long-term goal of becoming a top-level manager.

After 22 years, 717 appearances and a boatload of trophies, the 36-year-old defender has brought down the curtain on his playing career with the west Londoners.

Last weekend Terry capped an extravagant farewell at Stamford Bridge by lifting the Premier League trophy, but hopes of a dream double were scotched as Arsenal secured a shock 2-1 win in Saturday’s FA Cup final.

The skipper was an unused substitute for a galling defeat that is likely to be his last involvement as a player at Wembley – a stadium Terry dreams of returning to as a manager.

“I am going away, I need a good week away just to reflect,” Terry said about his short-term decision on whether to play on.

“It doesn’t help because it’s heart-breaking, going out like that and losing. It’s the last time probably at Wembley as a player.

“Hopefully one day I’ll be back here as a manager, that’s kind of the ambition.

“It has been difficult for me actually as a player because I’ve been looking to do coaching for the last year.

“Every time we get a day off, you’ve got a coaching session planned and then you think ‘okay, I am going to spend it with the family’.

“The next thing you know the season has finished and you’ve kind of missed out on a few sessions and everything.

“But if I do stop or if I do carry on playing, I will press on in that regardless. I do want to be a manager.

“I think I’ve got too much to give and I’ve learned too much not to pass that on, whether that’s initially to a younger generation or eventually at this level.

“Listen, this is the target: being here managing a top side.”