WILL TEACH ’EM SAYS GALLAS

CHELSEA will benefit long term from having John Terry back at the club, says William Gallas.

The former England defender, 41, called time on his playing career at the Blues in 2017 with a move to Aston Villa.

During nearly two decades in West London, he racked up over 700 appearances for the club.

But the former centre-half – who left his assistant manager role at Villa last year following Dean Smith’s dismissal – is now working behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

“I am very happy for Terry because he is back home at Chelsea coaching the younger players,” said Gallas (inset).

“He can share his experience with the young players and help them with their careers. It was a good opportunity for him to come back to Chelsea and I’m sure he will do a great job.

“You know, he’s a legendary player.

That’s why I’m sure the young boys, they will listen to him because John can help them a lot.”

Terry won the League Cup three times with Chelsea and was man of the match when they beat Liverpool 3-2 in the 2005 final. Frenchman Gallas, who also played in that Cardiff showpiece, says Terry is one of the greatest Premier League defenders ever.

“I played with players like Marcel Desailly, Lilian Thuram, Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen,” he added.

“But for me, the best defender I played with was Terry because of the understanding we developed. “We didn’t have to speak on the pitch. We just knew what we had to do. Terry (right) was a tall guy, very strong.

“He was not quick but because I knew he was not quick I would cover for him. “He was a very patient defender and could read the game so well, which helped him protect me.”

The Blues’ triumph over Liverpool 17 years ago kick-started the Jose Mourinho revolution.

The Portuguese coach guided Chelsea to the title just a few months later. In total, Mourinho won seven major trophies at the club.

“He was a perfectionist as a manager,” said

Gallas. “Every training session was very hard, which suited me because I was a guy who wanted to improve every day and in every match.

“When you have a manager like Mourinho you just progress.

“When I was playing for him at Chelsea I understood the commitment required to play at the top level every weekend.

“He made me understand that if

I wanted to be one of the top defenders in the Premier

League and in the world, I needed to play well every weekend.”