Terry impressed by Villas-Boas

The Portuguese tactician took over the reins at the West London side back in June after a successful season in charge of FC Porto.

Comparisons with former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho were inevitable, especially as the 33-year-old was part of the backroom staff during the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’s time at Porto and Chelsea.

And England captain Terry confesses he has noticed striking similarities between the two as the Blues’ gear up for the new campaign.

“Jose didn't like anyone getting close to the players, his own staff, his personal staff or masseurs,” he said, as reported by The Sun.

“We had a good relationship with him but there were days you wouldn't have gone near him.

“You could have a laugh and a joke with Jose and that could change the following day. Andre is very much the same now as a manager.

“Clearly he's learned from Jose and there are certain things where you think that is very Mourinho-esque.

“But we have to pay him respect and realise what he achieved at Porto. I know our Portuguese lads talked to some of the Porto players and they spoke very highly of him. He deserves our respect

“Jose really took everything when he was here and Andre wasn't given the freedom to be able to do what he's doing now.

“But he has confidence in himself and when he tells you something he firmly believes it and he gets that across 100 percent the right way.

“He makes you believe that what he's talking about is right. His whole demeanour and his attitude is second to none.”

The 30-year-old believes it was a clean slate for every player when they returned to pre-season training with a new man at the helm.

"It's a fresh start for everyone," he added.

"We've had to come in and prove ourselves, even though he watched every game last year and he knows a lot of the players anyway.

"He said anyone can lose their place so we all came in fighting for our places and we're all keen to see what the starting XI is going to be."

Chelsea kick off their campaign with an away trip to Stoke City on Sunday.

By Ben McAleer

Nick Moore

Nick Moore is a freelance journalist based on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. He wrote his first FourFourTwo feature in 2001 about Gerard Houllier's cup-treble-winning Liverpool side, and has continued to ink his witty words for the mag ever since. Nick has produced FFT's 'Ask A Silly Question' interview for 16 years, once getting Peter Crouch to confess that he dreams about being a dwarf.