Guus Hiddink has challenged Chelsea's all-conquering youth team to show the same desire as club captain John Terry if they want to make it to the first team.
The interim boss has warned the club’s talented youngsters that talent alone will not be enough to secure their futures at Stamford Bridge.
Hiddink has made no secret of the fact he wants to continue working in a non-official capacity with the Blues’ academy but thinks it will be very hard for the club to produce a player of Terry’s quality.
The Chelsea captain picked out 18-year-old Jake Clarke-Salter as his potential successor but there are others, like Dominic Solanke, who are more concerned with earning a first-team wage.
Hiddink knows that Chelsea’s academy will produce talent, but believes strong mental attributes are behind the evergreen success of stand-out players like Terry, who has captained his country.
He said: “The talent falls into your lap; you can help them a bit and that is why it is so important to have a good academy and recruitment.
Video: Where next for John Terry if he leaves Chelsea?
“But it is a difficult job, trying to spot a 12-year-old who will get into the first team.
“To make the first team you must have the deep down fire in your body and soul.
“You see the spirit and the fire of those guys at Manchester United is one example, like Scholes and Giggs who had this huge desire to keep going.
“I never had one training session with John where I had to say ‘hey John, you were not there’.
“When we have training one day before the game, I have to tell him to calm down because he is tackling, so I have to put the brake on him a bit because his desire is still so high.”
Terry leads by example in matches as well as on the training pitch, but his commitment to the Blues is just as evident when he’s not playing.
The captain has been side-lined for the last six matches with an ongoing tendon injury and Hiddink revealed he was almost inconsolable after his latest setback.
He said: “He had a little setback and he was almost unapproachable when he got this setback which shows his desire to play.
“Figuratively speaking he was not devastated, but he had a setback 14 days ago and he showed his desire because he didn’t just say ‘okay this is the end of my career’, you can see that in training.”
Hiddink also spoke out about one of his pet hates in modern football; players who kiss the badge.
However, the Dutchman believes Terry is in a particular group of professionals who have earned the right to kiss their club badge, especially after his 18 years of service at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “I don’t like to see it too much.
“Kissing the badge is a gesture for the camera and a bit fake.
“But there are exceptions who are very home grown, less and less in football nowadays but John has the right to do so here.”
