Terry determined to slay spectre of failure

England captain John Terry believes he will be haunted by a sense of failure until the end of his days if he doesn’t win either the Champions League trophy or the World Cup before he stops playing.

With Chelsea going well in Europe under Carlo Ancelotti and England currently regarded as third favourites for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, Terry knows that, at 28, this season could be the one that defines his career.

“This is my biggest season ahead of me and it’s important to stay fit and keep playing well for Chelsea,” Terry said ahead of England’s trip to the Ukraine for Saturday’s penultimate qualifier.

Fabio Capello’s squad have already qualified for the finals but the Italian has made it clear that no player can take their place in the squad for South Africa for granted and Terry insists he does not feel immune from the pressure to prove himself.

“When the England games come up, I need to show how important I am to the team and to the manager, and keep the lads moving in the right direction,” Terry added.

“Everybody knows the determination within myself to go on and win the Champions League with Chelsea, there is no bigger challenge than that.

“And with the England situation, I was captain of that side that didn’t qualify for Euro 2008 and I took that very personally, and took a lot on my shoulders.

“I want to make sure that in my career I win the Champions League and go to the World Cup confident we can do well.

“It would 100 percent always annoy me if I retired without a Champions League winners’ medal with Chelsea or some real success with England.

“To end my career without either of those things is unthinkable.”

Terry might already have a Champions League winners medal if he had not fluffed his shoot-out penalty in the 2008 final against Manchester United in Moscow and memories of England’s quarter-final exit from the last World Cup (on penalties against Portugal) also remain raw.

“What happened in the Champions League final I have to deal with every day,” Terry said. “Whether it be five, 10, 15 or 20 times a day, I deal with it in my way and try to use it as a positive.

“With England it’s the same. We went to 2006 as potential winners and not reaching that level or beating a side we dominated, and going out on penalties, is hard to get your head around for weeks, months, years and even now.

“I still remember Cristiano Ronaldo winking at the bench. Things like that live with you forever.”