John Terry at a loss to explain why he hasn't been offered managerial roles

Martin Macdonald

• 22 Oct 2025 09:01 CDT
• 3 min read

News

Chelsea legend John Terry can't explain why he hasn't received any substantial offers to become a manager.

The former Blues captain is an icon at Stamford Bridge and during his time at the club he won five Premier League titles, five FA Cup titles, three League Cup titles and one Champions League.

He is recognised as one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history.

A keen coach, Terry spent time with the Chelsea academy after retiring before eventually becoming assistant manager to Dean Smith at Aston Villa.

Despite his distinguished career, he is yet to be a manager, and has seen peers like Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard take big jobs in recent years.

Terry dreams of managing Chelsea, like Lampard did, but concedes it won't happen.

"I'm not sure it ever happens, to be honest," he told the Daily Mail.

"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 willing to drop down the leagues

Terry, in fairness, says he is willing to go down the football pyramid to perhaps a League One side to finally take the reigns of a team for the first time.

"When I went into Villa I got great experience under Dean Smith and we got promotion, which was incredible," the 44-year-old continued.

"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."

"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."

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