Don't axe captain Terry, says Chelsea boss

Avram Grant last night insisted Fabio Capello would be crazy to consider axeing John Terry as the England captain.

Terry's antics have come under close scrutiny in recent weeks but Chelsea manager Grant launched a passionate defence of his club skipper as he prepared for tomorrow's Barclays Premier League clash at Arsenal.

Grant said: "Capello would be stupid to think anyone else could be a better captain. If you ask the managers and coaches all over the world they would want a captain like John Terry.

"One of his strengths is off the pitch. You can see how he connects with the other players and what he does for children. I am here day to day with him and he is an excellent example to others. Judge John Terry on his actions. You will not find anything wrong."

Although Sportsmail understands that Capello has no plans to replace Terry as captain, his responsibilities will be scaled down. Steve McClaren spoke to him nearly every day but Capello will not engage Terry in that kind of relationship.

Terry will be consulted over the players' preferences but Capello will take sole responsibility for the decisions in the England camp.

Capello believes Terry is one of "three personalities" in the England team — Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney are the others.

Grant added: "Terry is a great captain 24 hours a day. Everything looks good for Chelsea at the moment but I can tell you that in September he did a great job when things were not going so well.

"I only know my players but you will not find a better captain than John Terry. On the pitch he is a good defender and off it he got the players together in September and showed how much he cared about Chelsea. I could write a book about him."