Petr Cech has backed John Terry to cope with barracking from the terraces after he received intense abuse from Manchester City supporters during Chelsea’s 3-2 Community Shield defeat at Villa Park yesterday.
Terry was found not guilty last month of a racially aggravated public order offence involving Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a match at Loftus Road last October, but is still facing a charge from the Football Association.
City fans taunted him throughout yesterday’s encounter and he is expected to face a similarly hostile reception from opposition fans across the country this season.
But Cech said it won’t make an impact on Terry’s performances and said: “He’s a strong lad. He knows that this will go on every time we play away from home.
“I don’t think he was surprised (by what happened in the Community Shield) and it won’t affect him in any way.
“All I need him to be is JT and to play well. As long as he does that, everyone will be happy.”
The nature of Chelsea’s defeat appeared to suggest they may struggle to beat defending champions Manchester City to the title. City finished 25 points ahead of them last season.
But John Obi Mikel added: “We want to regain the trophy. It does hurt us (the 25 point gap last season). We spoke about it. It was such a big gap. We don’t want it to repeat itself.
“For us, finishing in the top four is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to win the trophy.”
