'I'm not sure it ever happens' - John Terry insists it is 'difficult to fathom' why he does not get more managerial opportunities as he lifts lid on Chelsea ambition

Terry enjoyed a world-class playing career in which he captained Chelsea to five Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League and five FA Cups. He retired after a short stint at Aston Villa, having also won 78 caps for England, and then appeared set to head into coaching. In 2018, fresh from hanging up his boots, he was appointed as Villa's assistant head coach, working with manager Dean Smith, but left after three years. Since, he worked with Chelsea in a coaching consultancy role, before returning to Smith's staff at Leicester City. After his time with the Foxes, which came to an end in July of 2023, he has not held a role in first-team football, and he has expressed his confusion at the state of affairs he finds himself in, having seen former international team-mates Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, and Wayne Rooney all bag managerial roles. 

Quoted by the Daily Mail, Terry revealed his dream is to manage Chelsea, but he accepts that he may well have to admit defeat on that fantasy. 

He said: "I'm not sure it ever happens, to be honest. It's my one last dream I have at the football club. I've done everything at Chelsea. And for me now, the one thing that is missing is being the manager of the football club. 

"That's why I went into coaching when I finished playing. My idea and dream was to learn my trade a bit. As a player, you retire after 22 years… Listen, 100 per cent, you learn enough to go into management. 

"The level I played at and the managers I played under. But it doesn't give you the right you go into management at a certain level. You still have to learn and understand what it takes. 

"There's a lot more that goes into the coaching side of it. So I went away and learnt my trade, I had some unbelievable times at Villa, I left Villa to be a number one, I thought I was ready. I think I'd be a really good number one, I enjoyed the coaching side of it. 

"I want people around me that are better coaches than me. Then I could lead the dressing room and the team like I did [as a player]. That's what I did for 22 years at the club. I know I'd be good at it. Will I ever get the chance? I'm not sure, without doing the other bits. But when people tell you you've not got the experience, it's difficult to fathom."

Terry says he is not trying to take a job in the top-flight of English football, and instead says he would be willing to drop into a League One club as he looks to kick-start his managerial career at the age of 44. 

He added: "When I went into Villa I got great experience under Dean Smith and we got promotion, which was incredible. As an assistant coach in the Premier League and the experience I've had as a player and an individual captain in both Chelsea and England, I thought that would be enough to get me a job.

"I'm not saying a job in the Premier League or the Championship - but a job at League One level."

Terry concluded: "I didn't even get a sniff. I had interviews and it was just 'you have no experience'. When I see some people managing today, it baffles me, it really does. 

"In terms of 'am I frustrated', yes, absolutely, because I have a lot of good attributes to be a really good coach or a really good manager but, unfortunately, that's not happened."

Terry is clearly ready and willing to jump into the dugout but it is unclear if a League One club will be willing to test him out. He will surely be keeping a close eye on managerial movements up and down the Football League, although the Blues job looks a long way off for the former skipper.