Mutu urges Hasselbaink to stay and compete

Adrian Mutu has urged Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to withdraw his threat to leave and commit his future to Chelsea.

The Dutch striker is unhappy at manager Claudio Ranieri's rotation policy and yesterday threatened to demand a transfer unless he is picked more frequently.

Hasselbaink is Chelsea's top scorer with 14 goals but has started just two of their last six games. He said: "I have informed the management of the club that I will leave if I can't play on a more regular basis. I want to play every week but Ranieri makes a lot of changes and if you play well you can very well be on the bench the next game."

Mutu is also a victim of Ranieri's tinkering but urged Hasselbaink to reconsider. He said: "Jimmy is a very good player and I hope he is here next season. I don't have a problem with the manager but you

would have to ask Jimmy. It's not difficult changing the strikers and it's normal. The manager decides who to play."

Mutu returned from a thigh injury in last night's 0-0 draw with Stuttgart which secured Chelsea's passage to the Champions League quarter-finals, missing two good chances after appearing as a late substitute.

John Terry says Chelsea are so confident in Europe they'd be happy to draw Arsenal in the quarterfinals-despite not beating the Gunners in 16 games stretching back to 1998. Terry said: "We want to play Arsenal, why not? We've got to beat them sooner or later so why not in the Champions League? All the lads are looking forward to the draw."

Chelsea have only reached the quarter-finals on one previous occasion, losing 6-4 to Barcelona on aggregate.

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