John Terry says Chelsea can illustrate their intent to win trophies at home and abroad over the next 12 days, as they embark on a sequence of four important away matches and the captain believes that their hopes have been bolstered by the return of the fear factor which once accompanied the team under José Mourinho.
Chelsea have responded positively to the appointment in the summer of Carlo Ancelotti as manager and they arrived in Portugal for tomorrow night's Champions League Group D tie against Porto with qualification to the knockout phase already assured. In domestic competition, meanwhile, they are five points clear at the top of the Premier League and they are into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
"I really do think we are close to getting there," Terry said. "When you listen to the other players, in other words when we are away with England, speaking about how well we are playing, they are fearing us again. They are confident that we are playing well and have a real chance of going on to do great things this year. I think we did have that when we were winning the Premier League [under Mourinho in 2005 & 2006]. It's key we get that back."
Although Porto have also qualified for the last 16, Terry and Ancelotti stressed the importance of what will be an exacting test here and, moreover, how they were determined to advance as the group winners. Chelsea will enter the Estádio do Dragão with 10 points to Porto's nine.
The ex-Porto players Ricardo Carvalho and Deco will return as Ancelotti looks to freshen up his team, as will Branislav Ivanovic and Michael Ballack while there will be a start at left-back for Yuri Zhirkov. Ancelotti said that Michael Essien had a slight knee problem and would not start against Porto, although he would be fit for the Premier League trip to Arsenal on Sunday, which precedes the Carling Cup fixture at Blackburn Rovers and the Premier League game at Manchester City. Didier Drogba, who has recovered from badly damaged ribs, hopes to appear as a substitute to prove his fitness for Arsenal.
"It's four away games in a row and that's the challenge major title-winning teams rise to," Terry said. "We know what it takes to win major titles and it is winning runs, periods when you keep on top, striding from result to result. If we beat Porto, we win the group with a game to go. Not many teams win in Porto but we can do it.
"Then it's Arsenal and Manchester City in the league. Arsenal will be doing the maths; they are eight points behind with a game in hand. We've had some good results there since Wayne Bridge's winner in the Champions League in 2004 and another one could cement our position at the top of the table.
"City are serious top-four contenders and, like Porto, are very strong at home. We have a great record there and these are the games when we can really make the difference. Victory, too, at Blackburn and we're in the semi-finals. On the two occasions we've won the Carling Cup recently, we gone on to win the Premier League in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2007. It's the appetiser."
