
John
Terry insists he can continue to play at the top of the game, but is
prepared to bide his time over a new deal at Chelsea.
Terry played every minute of the Blues' Premier League title-winning
campaign last season and was rewarded with a new 12-month contract, but has
struggled along with most of his team-mates this term with Chelsea
languishing in 14th place, 14 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
However, he proved his dogged commitment to the Blues' cause on Saturday
with a stoppage-time equaliser in the 3-3 draw with Everton, having opened
the scoring with an own goal, and the 35-year-old says he feels as strong as
ever.
"When you get to a certain age, there are a lot of people out there who
think 'he's 35, going on 36 and maybe his legs have gone'. But I have never
had legs, it's as simple as that," he said.
"I have never been quick all my career. But physically, I probably feel as
good as I've ever felt in the last two or three years.
"I'm in the right state of mind. I'm still hungry. I want to win and finish
my career here."
Chelsea's policy is to offer only one-year increments to players aged over
30, but Terry is relaxed about his future.
"I'm not thinking of that," he added. "Last year, it was a couple of months
from now before things got sorted.
"For me, the most important thing is to get us out of this and up the league
table. Hopefully that comes and I will just have to keep plugging away."
Chelsea interim manager Guus Hiddink says he doesn't see much difference
between the Terry he coached in his first spell at the club in 2009 and the
current edition.
"His commitment is huge for this team and for the club, not just with his
equalising goal, but with his attitude and the actions he did defensively
and offensively," said the Dutchman.
"For me, there's not much (difference) between John in 2009 and now. For me,
you would have to underline that with data. You can say 'hey, make a test
and say he has lost some speed', but I cannot see that.
"He's fit, he trains well, he takes care of himself, takes a good rest,
which you have to do at that age. I cannot see that he is slowing down a
bit."