John Terry 'never gave up hope' of regaining England captaincy

Posted Tuesday, March 22, 2011 by theguardian.com

• 'I've always done whatever the manager needs of me'
• Fabio Capello impressed by response to losing armband

John Terry 'never gave up hope' of regaining England captaincy
John Terry said he 'never gave up hope' that he would captain England again.

John Terry has welcomed Fabio Capello's decision to restore him as England captain. It was confirmed at the weekend that Terry would lead England against Wales on Saturday.

Terry, who was stripped of the armband in February last year following allegations he had an affair with the former girlfriend of his ex-Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge, said: "I've always done whatever the manager needs of me to make sure we win. I moved on very quickly from the decision about losing the captaincy and I've never fallen out with the manager. But I've never given up hope that I will captain England again."

Terry revealed the manager, Capello, has been impressed with his reaction to being deposed as captain, and insists he has always maintained respect for the Italian.

"When the manager told me in that meeting at Wembley that I was losing the job I accepted and respected his decision – even though I did not necessarily agree with it – shook his hand and his assistant Franco Baldini's hand and told them I'd always give 100%," Terry added in The Sun.

"The manager said he really appreciated that and hoped that would be the case."