Mourinho hints at Terry omission

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has hinted that he could consign club captain John Terry to the Stamford Bridge bench, just as he did with Iker Casillas at Real Madrid.

GettyImagesJose Mourinho will have some big decisions to make about how to use Chelsea stalwarts like John Terry

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Mourinho's return after seven years away from Chelsea sees him reunited with many former players who played key roles during his first successful spell in charge, including Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Petr Cech and Michael Essien.

With all these players now in their thirties however, and Blues owner Roman Abramovich reportedly providing the incoming boss with a £100 million warchest to freshen up the squad he has inherited, Mourinho may now be faced with managing the expectations of senior players who he has long claimed to be close friends.

Talking Spanish TV programme Punto Pelota about his 'feud' with Madrid captain Casillas this season, the Portuguese said he always wants 'meritocracy' in his dressing-room, even if it means upsetting senior players, while he also alluded to tension between Terry and Chelsea's former interim boss Rafa Benitez in recent months.

"I am a coach who looks for a meritocracy," Mourinho said. "Whoever I think is best must play. Without looking at status or the past. You play as you train. It is a normal situation. As it was normal for me to leave [Marco] Materazzi, a mythical player at Inter, on the bench. Or like Benitez this year at Chelsea with Terry.

"The fans can think that Iker is better than Diego [Lopez]. I accept that, but I am the coach. If there are players who change their 'modus operandi' if they play or not, that is a problem for the player."

Mourinho's clashes with senior players at Madrid last season - also including Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Angel Di Maria, Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema – has left some pundits claiming that the new Madrid coach struggles to bring together big personalities in a dressing-room.

The former Inter Milan boss, however, insisted that the Bernabeu dressing room was now in a much better state than when he arrived three years ago.

"The coach who comes in will find themselves in a different situation from the one I faced," he said. "Now we are psychologically on top of our biggest rival. Also the president will make two good signings."