Gary Cahill

“The most important thing is that the team is doing well.”

“To be captain of such a huge club like Chelsea is a great personal achievement.”

“I was told 'you can't play for England, you're at Bolton.' I proved them wrong.”

“My teammates don't see it, but deep down I find it tough to sit there and not influence big games.”

“I have been hugely proud in terms of what I have achieved, in terms of over 60 caps, and I have captained my country on a few occasions which has been a huge honour and something I have been really proud of in my career.”

“I've always been hungry to play football.”

“The hardest thing is when things are not going so well and you have got to dig in and get results.”

“I'd rather do my talking on the pitch.”

“I don't want to be stale.”

“I realise that sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't. But it is very important for me I feel personally, even selfishly, the need to be playing football matches.”

“When I was growing up I would always watch the more experienced players to see what they were doing and why they were doing it.”

“It's always strange going back to Villa Park for me.”

“You get people criticising people who are happy to sit on the bench, picking up money.”

“I am sure for every striker, scoring goals gives them confidence.”

“It has been a huge honour and I am hugely grateful to the managers for the caps that I have had.”

“I came to Chelsea and it was 'oh you can't play Champions League, you can't do this, you can't do that' and I proved them wrong.”

“When things are going well, everyone's coming into training, having a lot of banter and joking about and enjoying things, and when you are not, it's not that feeling, because the expectation level is to win.”