Giggs will give kids a chance
JOHN TERRY has never hidden his desire to return to Chelsea one day as a coach. He may have just laid down the first few lines of his application.
When he brought the curtain down on his Chelsea career after 22 years, during which he won the Premier League and the FA Cup five times as well as the Champions League and Europa League, Terry was clear in his ambition.
“I don’t think you can ever dream too big,” he said as he began his coaching badges. “I have always wanted to be the very best and if that’s in management, then Chelsea’s the one.”
Terry has been a frequent visitor to the club’s Cobham training complex, and still lives nearby despite now plying his trade for Aston Villa in the Championship.
And now the role he has played in getting Andreas Christensen back on track has been revealed after the young Dane’s meteoric rise hit a few bumps in the road.
The centre-back was at fault for Barcelona’s equaliser in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 first leg tie last month, and made further mistakes in defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City. So when he saw Terry on the Cobham touchline last week, he made a beeline for his former captain.
“My team-mates have seen all my other performances, so they know that these mistakes aren’t typical for me,” said the 21-year-old.
“I have had a small talk with John. He has also experienced setbacks and it is always nice to talk to someone watching it from the outside and to learn that they have experienced the same. He told me it is natural to make mistakes and he tried to put it in perspective.
“If a forward misses a chance, he can make it good again by scoring when he gets the next opportunity. But we can’t change a goal scored against us, so when we make mistakes it is more crucial and easy for people to point fingers.
“Now I have moved on. It has been difficult. You are not doubting yourself, but you might get a bit more cautious, and that can make things even worse.
“I’ve been annoyed at myself and that is difficult to get rid of – especially when there is a week between matches, because then you have a whole week to think about it. You just want to move on to the next match so that you can play without mistakes.
“I can’t avoid making mistakes but in some games they have been decisive.
“Now I am just waiting for the next games to come so I can prove that the mistakes aren’t typical for me.”
Christensen has been a revelation this season since returning from a two-year loan spell at Borussia Monchengladbach, ousting Brazil World Cup star David Luiz with his calmness on the ball.
And, after his pep talk from Terry, he looked back to his best in Chelsea’s 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win at Leicester on Sunday.
“I thought I might be out after the errors but I try to tell myself that before these matches I have played all the other ones almost with no mistakes,” he said.
“I hope that is the reason I get to start, because the coach knows he RYAN GIGGS has urged his young stars to follow Marcus Rashford’s lead and impress at the top level as he prepares for his first games in charge of Wales.
Giggs insists he will not shy away from throwing the likes of Liverpool tyros Ben Woodburn, 18, and Harry Wilson, 20, straight into action in the China Cup.
Wales face China in Nanning on Thursday before meeting either Uruguay or the Czech Republic.
“I’m not afraid to give young players a chance. I did that in my four games in charge of Manchester United and I gave Tom Lawrence and James Wilson their debuts,” Giggs said.
“If I see young players perform in training, I then want to see if they can do it on the pitch.
“I have seen Marcus Rashford develop and seen him given a chance. Marcus benefited from someone else getting injured in the warm-up and when I got my chance at United, it was Lee Sharpe who got injured.
“I couldn’t see a way into the first team. Sharpey had won PFA young player of the year and he was playing for England. It was bad luck for Sharpey, but lucky for me.
“You give them a chance and they have to take it.”
Giggs was assistant manager at United when Rashford made his debut in a 5-1 Europa League win against Midtjylland in 2016. Rashford scored twice in that game and has gone on to become a regular for United and England.
Giggs has lost Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu, 17, to injury but along with Woodburn and Wilson, Brentford’s Christopher Mepham, 20, is in contention to face China.
Giggs’ star man Gareth Bale flew to the Far East yesterday after scoring in Real Madrid’s 6-3 thrashing of Girona on Sunday.
I’ve been annoyed at myself and that is difficult to get rid of. Now I’ve moved on