Jose Mourinho's side were jeered as "boring, boring Chelsea" by Arsenal fans during their 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, a result that leaves the West Londoners two wins from guaranteeing the title.
However, Terry has defended their style of play, insisting that his team were "the best side by far" in the first phase of the season before consolidating their position.
"We are definitely not boring and, if we do go on to win it, nobody's going to remember the performances when perhaps it's not been that exciting," the centre-back declared to reporters. "We've dug deep and other teams haven't and that is why they are so far behind us.
"Possession is great - we could see that from the Manchester United game last week. Possession and tippy-tappy football's great but, if you are not winning games, you're not going to win the league.
"Let's not forget the first half of the season, up until Christmas, when we were the best side by far. The football we played with [Cesc] Fabregas and his assists, [Andre Schurrle's] goal at Burnley and others after that. The play was different class.
"Things then went against us and the manager, being him, came up with the way to get us through games. That's where he's at his best. Let's not forget we were the best side up until Christmas for sure and we have actually beaten the teams who have made things difficult for us.
"Now we are one step from where we want to be. [Next opponents] Leicester are flying - you can see they have got a bit of wind in their sails as well - so it is going to be a really tough game on Wednesday but it is in our hands, not anybody else's.
"We are grinding out results. We have got the quality in the squad so hopefully we can get over the line because we are very close."
Mourinho claimed after the draw that Terry had put in his best-ever performance to shut out Arsenal but the defender was more reserved.
"I'm not too sure," Terry replied when asked if it was his best game. "I got on the end of a lot of crosses and cleared a few.
"You can feel when things are going well and, definitely, during the game I felt it was but to hear that from the likes of the manager, who stands there and assesses you day-in, day-out, is really nice.
"But I just have to keep on and keep going because it can go the other way.
"Arsenal are a really good side, especially going forward, so we needed to be on it defensively, which we have been collectively.
"I just thought, even in midfield, tracking back late on you could see they were a little shattered a little bit but everyone dug deep."
No comments:
Post a Comment