Chelsea captain John Terry has heaped praise on Paolo Di Canio ahead of the Italian’s first match in charge of Sunderland.
Di Canio has been handed the task of keeping his new club up and his reign begins with a match against the Blues at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
And Terry revealed that as a youngster he received advice from Di Canio as the former West Ham man was nearing the end of his own playing career.
Terry explained: “I found him to be a really nice guy. He spoke to me after games and said ‘Listen, maybe you should do this and do that’ which I found really nice at the time.
“I was only young at the time. From an opposition player it was good to get that.
“If there was a little tussle he’d get up and shake your hand. He was very fair, very passionate – as we see with his character – and his ability was fantastic.
“He was a really tough player to play against, but he was a credit and I can only speak highly of him.
“He’ll show passion. I’ve read that he’s told the players ‘Tell your wives and your families it’s going to be a lot of long days and hard work’ and I think that’s what they need.
“The players there are really good and it’s surprising to see them down there.”
Chelsea badly need maximum points as they compete with rivals Tottenham and Arsenal for a Champions League place.
And Terry expects them to be given a tough test against a Sunderland side battling to avoid the drop.
“It’s going to be really tough, with a new manager coming in,” he said.
“He’s certainly going to have them up for it. You could see how well organised Swindon were during the time he was there.
“We must win and keep winning games in the league and really push. We must be involved in the Champions League.”
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This post was last modified on 05/04/2013