• Premier League

AVB must make a point and sell Terry - Vinnie Jones

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas must sell captain John Terry in order to reclaim the dressing room, according to former player Vinnie Jones.

Jones, who played briefly for the Blues at the start of the 1990s before returning to Wimbledon, believes the 34-year-old has been fighting an uphill battle to gain control of the squad at Stamford Bridge ever since moving to the Premier League - but believes dropping Terry from the first team and then moving him on would send a message that he is firmly in charge.

"I wouldn't be surprised if JT moves on. Sometimes, you've got to clear the decks," Jones told the Daily Express. "You think, 'How can you leave someone like JT out?' But sometimes your big, high-profile players go and other players come in and, all of a sudden, the coach is in charge again."

Chelsea's defeat against Liverpool on Sunday condemned the club to their worst Premier League start in the Roman Abramovich era, with questions starting to be raised about Villas-Boas' future at the club.

Vinnie Jones believes Andre Villas-Boas must make a statement © Getty Images

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Jones has no concerns about the former Porto manager's position, however, believing the club's owner has invested too much in his summer appointment to get rid of him after a relatively short run of disappointing results.

"They made a bold statement putting such a young fellow in charge of such a high-profile club and Abramovich has got to stick with it, especially until next season," he said.

"I think he's definitely going to give him some time, I really do. If you look at the guy's record, he's going to make decisions the fans are not going to be happy with. If a coach comes into a new club and makes decisions fans are not happy with, but gets the results, they go with the coach. It's as simple as that.

"If results don't go the right way they start shouting for his blood."

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