Antonio
Conte should keep John Terry at Chelsea when he arrives at Stamford Bridge
in the summer, says Steve Clarke.
Terry, who has been at the club his entire career, told the press in January
that Chelsea had yet to offer him a new contract, which expires in the
summer.
But with Conte arriving in the summer to replace interim manager Guus
Hiddink, former Chelsea assistant manager Steve Clarke told
Goals on
Sunday that Terry's presence should be valued.
"I think he should keep John, even if it's just to help him to settle into
the club because John is probably the last survivor of the old group.
"He may not be able to play every game, but when he does play and he is fit,
he's a key member of the team.
"I think with the way that Roman Abramovich goes about his business, Conte
will go in there and immediately be under pressure to get Chelsea back up
the table.
"I've said on a number of occasions this year that the players have been
poor, first and foremost, and his job will be to look at those players to
assess them, decide who he wants to keep and who he can use in his own
system.
"Through the summer I think they've got a lot of work to do there."
Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo, also on
Goals on Sunday,
was full of praise for the current Italy boss, who will start his duty with
the club after Euro 2016, and predicts he will be a success.
"He's a great manager, he's very well prepared, he was successful at
Juventus and is doing a great job with the Italian national team. I think he
will be a success.
"He's got a great chance because there's a new era starting at Chelsea next
year, he will have to start to rebuild the team to be successful for the
next five to ten years.
"It's a difficult job but a nice job. The years he was at Juventus he almost
always played with three centre backs and two strikers, and in the national
team he changes, sometimes playing three or four at the back.
"They will probably have to recruit players for the system he has to play.
He's quite demanding and he's hands on."
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