Terry assures he has cleared his mind

Good luck to Andre Villas-Boas in turning his Chelsea squad into role models. Presumably that means Ashley Cole can't shoot anyone at the training ground any more and John Terry can no longer...well, we all know what John Terry used to get up to.

Terry himself has declared himself an enthusiastic supporter of the new regime, although he appears to believe that Chelsea's new, young manager was talking about "people being late and stuff like that" rather than the bigger picture. We all await the first application of the new rules eagerly.

Clearly the 33-year-old Villas-Boas has already inspired England's off-on captain though. So much so that he has declared he wants to follow his footsteps all the way to the manager's office. Terry is three years younger than his new manager, who will do well to last until 2014 given his predecessors' Sopwith Camel pilot-length life-expectancy with Roman Abramovich as boss. And Terry as the loudest voice in the dressing room.

Carlo Ancelotti lasted just two seasons of course and while the first was trophy-laden, on the domestic front at least, the second did appear to lurch rapidly out of his laid-back control, especially when Cole infamously brought his air rifle to work. Villas-Boas was hired not just because he was a winner at Porto but also because he was seen to be an organiser and a controller. And some of the Stamford Bridge egos take some controlling...

"He expects us to be social role models," Terry revealed during Chelsea's pre-season trip to Malaysia. "Everyone is aware of what is expected of us and we will make sure we stay within the guidelines.

"The details of our conversation will stay between him and me, but he spoke about people being late and stuff like that. The boss doesn't need to stand there and check what time the players come into training. But he has the authority to do so.

"He trusts us well enough to come in for work on time. But it's little things like that you can easily let slip during the season but he wants everyone in on time and together as a team."

Terry famously launched a short-lived mutiny while on England duty at the World Cup finals last summer, which Fabio Capello quickly quashed, and the centre back regards himself as the ultimate alpha male in the Chelsea colony.

Villas-Boas could not be more different, both in character and footballing CV, and it is not difficult to guess how he will have received confirmation that Terry wants to be his successor.

"Andre Villas-Boas did a great job at Porto and fortunately our owner has given him the opportunity he deserves," Terry said. "Everyone knows my ultimate aim is to become the manager one day and it's great to see."