John Terry: Chelsea boss Rafael Benítez hasn’t seen the ‘true me’

John Terry has admitted his frustration at not being able to “impress” Rafael Benítez since the Spaniard’s appointment at Chelsea.

The former England captain was ruled out of action for two months back in November with a knee injury and is still on his way to regaining full match fitness.

Terry, 32, insists that he knows he is not guaranteed a place in the Blues’ first team under Benítez but is determined to earn his spot back on merit.

“When you’re playing for 10 years you don’t just get selected. You have to play well, train well and impress managers that come in,” Terry told Chelsea’s website.

“Most frustrating for me was that when Rafa came in I wasn’t able to impress him and show him what I’m about, I was sitting in the dressing room looking out the window at the lads training.

“He hasn’t seen the true me, I still need a couple of games, but if called upon all I can do is come in and play well.”

Terry, who scored in Chelsea’s 4-0 FA Cup win over Brentford on Sunday, also dismissed reports of a rift between the defender and the Chelsea interim boss.

He added: “There is no rift, the team spirit is great here and we’ve always had a good mentality within the squad.”