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Terry: Rift rumours with Benitez are 'rubbish'

John Terry played and scored against Brentford © PA Photos

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Chelsea captain John Terry has branded claims of a rift between him and manager Rafael Benitez as "rubbish" after returning to the side for the 4-0 FA Cup victory against Brentford.

Terry has struggled to hold down a regular place in the Chelsea side following his return from a knee injury.

While Benitez put the lack of match action down to the former England international being short of fitness, newspaper reports have suggested all is not well between the two. Something which Terry steadfastly refutes.

"It's complete rubbish," he told ITV. "There are stories today in the papers, but it is complete lazy journalism. The manager knows me and knows I want to play but I've been out for three or four months but the other two [centre-backs] have been doing well so there's a lot of competition in the side and we'll all fight for it.

Benitez backed up Terry's claim that there were no problems behind the scenes, adding: "Clearly you can see, he's on the pitch, he's training."

The Blues have now claimed three wins in a row and Benitez is keen to continue the run as Chelsea seek to improve their Premier League standing and maintain a chance of silverware by continuing in the FA Cup.

"In football you have to win games, in a top side it's even more important," he said. "I said before this is a team in transition, little by little we will see if we can improve."

Brentford boss Uwe Rosler felt the final scoreline was harsh on his side, who had managed to hold Chelsea for the first half before capitulating after the break.

"I think we did very well, I think we made their life very difficult," Rosler said. "It's disappointing that they scored from a long kick [and] a shot from outside the box."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.