Be Real With Yourself John Terry

Via Skysports.com

Chelsea skipper John Terry has insisted that Manchester United can be caught in the title race and that they are "not invincible".

The Blues are in serious danger of losing the title this season, with their grasp on the trophy all but diminished as they trail the Red Devils by 12 points in the Premier League.

After such a strong start to the campaign,Chelsea have come off the rails in recent months, winning just five of their last 16 matches and seemingly suffering from a lack of confidence.

It has not been a vintage season for United either in the quality of their performances at times, particularly away from Old Trafford.

However, they have shown great resilience and maintained a winning mentality to stay top of the division, having only lost their first game of the campaign to Wolves at the start of February.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is under serious pressure to improve results, having spent over £70million on Fernando Torres and David Luiz to bolster their squad at the end of January, though an upturn has not been instant.

Terry accepts that the chances of retaining the title now are "really small," but feels that a 12-point lead is not unassailable, as demonstrated by United's victory over Newcastle in 1996 when they came back from a similar deficit.

"It's been done. Man United did it to Newcastle many years ago," the former England captain said.

Pressure

"It's possible and a little bit of pressure..."

If Chelsea are to manage an unlikely comeback, they must start by beating United in a huge match next Tuesday at Stamford Bridge in a fixture that was put back from December due to bad weather conditions.

Terry knows the pressure of maintaining a lead at the head of the table, and admitted that it is never easy trying to wrap things up early.

"Even those games at the end of last year, us knowing we needed to win, there's an awful lot of pressure on those games," said Terry, whose side won a vital title decider against United last April.

"Going to Old Trafford and winning can only do us the world of good in years to come and this year.

"At times, we see that they can be beaten, they can be got at.

"They're certainly not invincible.

"Blackpool, they got in their faces and did very well for 60, 70 minutes.

"But what did show, once again, was their experience. That experience, we've also got here as well.

"They're a very good side but I don't think anybody should be fearful of them."

Branding Tuesday's match "must-win", he added: "Who knows what game plan they're going to come down with?

"They're playing well, so they'll probably be confident of coming down and getting something, which will hopefully suit us."

Many of the Chelsea side have been branded as having their best years behind them at Stamford Bridge, but Terry felt that a price could not be put on experience and backed them to come good now.

"We've been there, we've seen it, we've done it, we've got the t-shirt," he said.

"When we do go on a bad run, people pinpoint the age.

Experience

"But what we have got is an awful lot of experience, a lot of trust in each other and belief that we can still do it.

"Look at last year as well, the experience we showed last year in a lot of big games in the run-in.

"We went away to Liverpool, went away to Man United and won very big games - which proved to be very crucial in us doing the double."

Speaking of Torres, who despite failing to find the net again in their Champions Leaguewin over Copenhagen performed well throughout, Terry felt he was improving and backed him to net for United's visit.

"The only thing that was missing from his performance was a goal," he added.

"It would've been very nice for him, but he played a massive part in our performance."

"We hope so (against United). It'd be an ideal time, and what a way to get going."