Terry taunts rivals

Terry: Ready for battle

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John Terry is confident that Chelsea's capacity for improvement is greater than their rivals.

The Blues finished as runners-up in the Premier League last season to Manchester United, but sent the race for the title into the final day after a late resurgence.

They also reached the final of the UEFA Champions League before their failings from the spot handed the Red Devils Europe's top prize.

However, while Sir Alex Ferguson's men have been basking in the glory of double success this summer, Chelsea have quietly gone about bringing in impressive new faces both on and off the field.

Luiz Felipe Scolari has arrived as boss, while Jose Bosingwa and Deco add undoubted quality to a squad already brimming with world-class talent.

Club captain Terry is adamant the Blues are now ideally placed to take revenge on United, and believes that Ferguson knows his side will struggle to compete with Scolari's men should they hit top form.

Awesome

"I think Sir Alex realises we weren't too far away from United when they were at the very top of their game," he said.

"I don't think United have another level to go to. They had a lot of players in their team who have been at the peak of their form for the last two years.

"Rio Ferdinand has been awesome for the last two years and Cristiano Ronaldo was unbelievable - I don't think you'll see that again.

"Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs - they have all been fantastic. With the injuries we've had, as players we can all raise the bar a little bit.

"With it being that close in the Premier League and Champions League, they know we'll give them a big run for their money.

"I think we can close the gap because Man Ute were at the very top of their game last season.

"I'm taking nothing away from them because they've been unbelievable over the past two years.

"But we've been very close to them and we had injuries and a change of manager."

Contracts

Terry also played down the endless speculation linking Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba with a move away from Stamford Bridge.

"Frank's not going anywhere and Didier is the same. Over the summer it's been they could move here, they could move there," he added.

"I think they know they are now at Chelsea and we've got to make it happen this year.

"Hopefully things can get resolved with Frank and Didier, I certainly hope the contract can get sorted out.

"We hope so because Frank's been our best player for the last four or five years - no doubt about that - and obviously we want to keep him."