Players have no reason not to be behind me, says Terry

“But the manager is in charge. He calls the shots and has made his decision.

“None of the players have had a problem with it yet and I would expect if there was a problem someone would tell me.

“I would totally respect that but I can’t see any reason why they would.

“It is important to draw a line under the captaincy and move on.”

It might not be quite so easy to end the talk given the man he has usurped, Rio Ferdinand, has twice avoided the opportunity to speak with Capello about the manner of his demotion.

The Manchester United centre-back has spoken to Terry though, following up a pre-game text by ringing the Chelsea captain immediately after the Blues’ Premier League win over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

It was a 10-minute chat Terry appreciated and proof of the mature stance Ferdinand is adopting over a crushing disappointment.

“It was a nice touch from Rio to call me,” he said. “That sums up what a great man he is. He cares about England. All he wants is England to win football matches.”

What events of the past couple of weeks also prove is that there is no lingering resentment over Terry’s press conference at the World Cup, when he appeared to undermine Capello’s management by suggesting players were unhappy with his choice of tactics.

At the time it was suggested that Terry was getting his own back for being stripped of the captaincy in the first place and by being so open, had put his international future in jeopardy.

He insists that was not the case, although the Barking-born player maintains a belief he did not feel it was right to take the armband away.

“I accepted the manager’s decision,” said Terry. “I didn’t agree with him but I never gave up hope of getting it back.

“In South Africa, there was no disrespect to anyone, including the manager.

“Maybe people took it the wrong way and felt that I was trying to be a captain when I wasn’t.

“I am a very passionate guy and did not want to come home from the World Cup.”

Terry regards himself as older and wiser for the whole unhappy experience, which cost him the dream of leading his country into a major tournament.

As he also missed out in 2008 when England failed to reach the European Championships, he now hopes it will be third time lucky as England continue their quest to reach the finals in Poland and the Ukraine.

They have already struck one hurdle by failing to overcome Montenegro at Wembley last October, so they cannot afford to stumble against a side who are yet to collect their first point in Group G.

Even the mention of Wales conjures up memories of Craig Bellamy’s acerbic response to being asked about Terry in the wake of that infamous meeting with Manchester City at Stamford Bridge last season, when Wayne Bridge refused to shake his hand in the usual pre-match exchange amid allegations of his one-time team-mate’s extra-marital affair with the mother of his child.

“I know what John Terry is like,” was Bellamy’s reply, although it seems Terry has no desire to resurrect an old argument.

“Craig Bellamy is a player I have a lot of respect for and someone, like myself, who loves to win,” said Terry.

“He shows an awful lot of passion and sometimes it gets misrepresented in certain ways.

“But the guy wants to win and will give everything to achieve that.

“I would expect a very tough game against him because I know what a great player he is.”