Chelsea and England captain John Terry has admitted that he was extremely surprised by the sacking of his club coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.Speaking to a news conference ahead of England's friendly against Spain in Seville on Wednesday Terry said: "I was very shocked by what's happened. He had my full support that's for sure and I'm sure two or three of the other players would say the same," the England captain added.

"He's a great man but we weren't playing well and that unfortunately falls on his head. Maybe it should have fallen more on us the players."


Terry admitted Chelsea have not been performing well recently, either individually or as a team, saying: "That falls on the manager's head which is unfair. At end of the day it's all about results and unfortunately for Scolari they didn't come."

Chelsea have been given permission to talk to Russia coach Guus Hiddink about taking over at Stamford Bridge and Terry noted the Dutchman's close relationship with the club's billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich.

"I don't know too much about him (Hiddink), we'll have to wait and see," he said, adding that he wanted to concentrate on the Spain match on Wednesday before commenting in more detail about the situation at Chelsea.

''What's happening back home is at the back of my mind but I am focusing on the game ahead,'' said Terry. ''It is a bit of a relief to get away for a couple of days because my main concern should now be England.

''The manager (Fabio Capello) has stressed he wants everyone focused on the game ahead. I want to put in a good performance personally and hopefully the squad can do the same.''

Such is Capello's high regard for Terry, he did not need to pull him to one side this morning. However, as speculation continues to swirl around Chelsea, the Italian thought it was better to re-assure himself.

''We spoke but I am sure John Terry will be okay because the England shirt is very important to him,'' said Capello. ''He is the captain and his position is important.''

As manager of one of the biggest national teams, Capello finds it difficult to believe he could c****ine it with a top club job as Hiddink would have to do.

He is certainly glad the decision is not his to make, because the answer would be no.

''It is not my problem,'' he sighed. ''I know he did it before with Australia and PSV. I prefer to think about one job, not two.''

Clearly Hiddink does not believe it is impossible. But Capello feels you require contrasting character traits to excel in each position, highlighting the obvious differences between management at club and international level.

''They are two completely different jobs,'' said the Italian. ''As a club manager you coach every day and you can change the style in a very short space of time. You can speak with the players about problems.

''With the national team it is different. I meet the players every 45 days. If you want to change a lot of things, you only have a very short time to work. In that situation, the character of the coach is very important.''