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John Terry: 'I'm not everybody's cup of tea'

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-23 10:09

WATFORD, England - John Terry acknowledged Tuesday that he is not "everybody's cup of tea" and his reappointment as England captain is unpopular with some people.

Coach Fabio Capello confirmed to the squad at training on Tuesday ahead of a 2012 European Championship qualifier at Wales on Saturday that Terry would be regaining the captain's armband from injured Rio Ferdinand.

"I'm not going to be everybody's cup of tea as I've read and I've seen, but it was the manager's decision (to reinstate me)," Terry said. "Respect for the players around me and the manager has always been there."

The Chelsea defender was stripped of the national team captaincy in February 2010 after allegations he had an affair with England teammate Wayne Bridge's former girlfriend, a scandal which led to Bridge quitting international football.

The incident rocked the England squad in the buildup to the World Cup in South Africa, where the team was eliminated in the second round.

The 30-year-old Terry said no one in the team had questioned his return as captain.

"When the manager confronted the team on the training pitch (on Tuesday), he asked the players if they had any questions and nobody spoke," Terry said. "Nobody said a world to the manager. Nobody said a word to me."

Despite media reports that Ferdinand was miffed at how the captaincy was handled, Terry said the Manchester United defender called to congratulate him.

Terry called it a "a very nice touch and goes to show what a great man Rio is."

"We had a 10-minute conversation and he wished me well," Terry said. "He cares about England and said the most important thing was to keep winning. He was naturally disappointed, but said the most important thing was to keep winning."

Injuries restricted Ferdinand to just four England appearances as captain, with the defender missing the entire World Cup and now set to miss the rest of this season.

Terry is adamant that he should never have been stripped of the captaincy by Capello in the first place.

"I met Fabio and (general manager) Franco (Baldini) on the day and accepted the decision," Terry said. "That doesn't mean I agreed with it but I looked them both in the eye and said 'You'll get nothing less from me in training and on the field."'

Terry insisted that now he is "certainly older, but wiser as well."

"Maybe the manager looked into that as well, that I had kept my head down and concentrated on playing well for club and country," he said.