Ruben revels in building bridges with Terry at Chelsea

CHELSEA and Scotland kid Ruben Sammut has lifted the lid on the cloud of doom and gloom that enveloped Stamford Bridge under Jose Mourinho and revealed how club icon John Terry has taken him under his wing.

The young midfielder has been one of the rare successes in the Scotland Under-19 side who crashed out of the Euro Elite Round last week in Croatia after depressing defeats to Belgium and the hosts. Sammut, who qualifies to play for Scotland through his Fife grandmother, is not your average young Premier League footballer. The 18-year-old is fluent in Mandarin and Italian.

And, in a turbulent season for Cheslea, Sammut believes Guus Hiddink has restored much-needed focus and order at the soon-to-be-deposed English champions.

He said: ‘Since Guus Hiddink has come in, he’s put on a lot more training sessions where we’ve been able to join in. I’ve trained a few more times with the first-team squad than I did under the previous manager.

‘That keeps you motivated. Any time you can impress in training, you just never know what might happen. You might get an opportunity. With the team not doing so well in the Premier League and out of the cup competitions, there is nothing to play for. So opportunities for young players should be coming pretty quickly.

‘It’s really good training with the first-team players.

‘A lot of the players felt low on confidence while Jose Mourinho was there but it’s totally different in the camp now. Everyone is upbeat again.

‘Training has been enjoyable again. The big players like John Terry, Diego Costa and Eden Hazard are really driving the sessions now. It’s been very good. The intensity is unreal. At the start of every session, it’s boxes, and the youngest player goes in the middle. Your head is spinning for about 30 passes.

‘John Terry has been the most helpful to me. He’s really good with all the young lads and, as soon as you go over there, he’s talking to you all the time.

‘They all shake your hand and make you feel welcome. But John is particularly good to me. It will be the end of an era when he leaves Chelsea. I’m not sure what’s going on with his contract but it would be great if he stayed.’

Sammut insists he remains committed to Scotland, despite being eligible to play for England.

He is happy with his progress at the London club and insists he has enjoyed this week’s Under-19s Elite Round despite Scot Gemmill’s Scotland side underperforming, although they had to do without Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney and Nottingham Forest winger Oliver Burke, who were called into Gordon Strachan’s main squad.

He said: ‘I’m totally committed to Scotland because they’ve always put faith in me. They came to me first.’