AVB wants Terry out of spotlight

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is hoping their FA Cup fourth-round tie against QPR does not heighten media scrutiny aimed at John Terry.

The match at Loftus Road comes four days before Terry is due to appear in court after being accused of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand in October.

Terry has denied the allegations and has vowed to clear his name but the centre-back faces the prospect of playing against the QPR defender on January 28.

“What are you going to do to make that environment a bit better, in terms of headlines and how much time we’re going to see taken up with Anton v Terry?” Villas-Boas said.

“We can play our part, but so can the media. If you want to finish, avoid speculating about it, about the return to QPR, a repetition of the images.”

“It’s important to kick any discrimination out of the game, but it won’t be a reminder of those incidents.”

Villas-Boas is also adamant the racism allegations will not deter him from selecting the Chelsea captain.

“I’ll have no problem picking John – not at all,” he claimed.

“He’ll have to compete against three others, but we’ll make the right decision.”

“It’ll be an intense cup game between two London teams, and hopefully it will be well contested between 22 players.”

In the last match between the two sides at Loftus Road, QPR – under the guidance of former boss Neil Warnock – managed to beat a Chelsea side reduced to nine men.

Villas-Boas praised his side’s performance in that match and has urged his side to replicate the spirit shown in the derby loss.

“For me, it’s a cup clash at a place we lost points, where we played brilliantly with nine men,” he said.

“Hopefully, we can go there and, if we do the same with 11 men with the same commitment, we’ll try and get through the tie.”