Monday 27 July 2015 11:48, UK
Chelsea captain John Terry says he will not join another Premier League club if the time comes for him to leave the Blues.
Terry played every minute in the Premier League last season as Chelsea claimed the title and says he is working hard to remain a major part of manager Jose Mourinho’s plans.
But the 34-year-old defender says he would expect to lose his place if his standards slip.
Terry told The Guardian: "I am not taking anything for granted.
"The manager has said if I can keep my form, I am in the side. But, if I don’t keep my form, he will have no qualms about taking me out and putting someone else in.
"We have an honest relationship, I don’t doubt that he trusts me. Hopefully I can repay that, because he has been superb to me. I will give him everything.
"And he has been a father figure in my career so I owe him an awful lot. I realise one day that my career will come to an end so I want to give everything these next few years.
"Every summer I work more or less every day to give myself the best chance. If it comes to that point where I am left out of the side, I know it’s not through any fault of not trying."
The 34-year-old defender also said that, if he were no longer a first-choice player, he would follow the example of goalkeeper Petr Cech, who acted professionally after losing his place to Thibaut Courtois last season and has now joined Arsenal.
However, Terry says there is no way he would join another Premier League club, meaning a move abroad could be a possibility at some point.
"I could handle being out of the team," he said. "Petr Cech was a model professional last year and that is why he got the move he wanted, because of how well he reacted around the place.
“I have seen other players go the other way. I certainly would go down the Petr route and continue giving everything to the squad.
"If I then felt Chelsea were going to release me or thought I had nothing else to give, but I thought I could, then of course I would still want to continue to play. But that would not be in the Premier League."
