Veron aims to live up to Ranieri’s lofty claims

JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON has declared it is time for him to live up to his manager’s claim that he is the best midfield player in the world.

When Chelsea chief Claudio Ranieri paid £16m in the summer to sign Veron from Manchester United, he hailed the Argentinian international as the best midfielder in the world.

Veron got off to a flying start, scoring in the team's winning opening to the Barclaycard Premiership campaign at Liverpool, but has failed to impress since.

He has recovered from an ankle injury and is back to face his former club Lazio in tonight's Group G Champions League clash at Stamford Bridge, and as Ranieri reiterated his belief about Veron's ability he accepted it was time to start delivering.

"I had a good start here," said Veron. "When Ranieri said that about me in the summer I am sure it was based on the videos he had seen of me at Sampdoria and Lazio at Manchester United I didn't get the continuity in my game that I got in Italy.

"It is up to me to pay back the trust he has placed in me on the pitch. I am looking forward to this game.

"Playing in Europe is always a special night and the fact we are playing one of the best teams who are also my former club is an added attraction for me. Things are improving here. We have the disadvantage that we are not a team who prepared together and had a pre-season together so it takes a certain amount of time.

"Knowledge is at the base of this and slowly but surely we are improving and getting a better understanding, but we still need time every team needs time."

Ranieri knows his team must win to keep alive their hopes of progressing in the Champions League, and after two defeats and a draw in their last three matches the pressure as ever is on.

The Italian shot down one newspaper's claim that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich had given him a vote of confidence until the end of the season, and suggested he does not look too far into the future.

"A newspaper wrote something but Mr Abramovich didn't say anything," said Ranieri. "If you write the truth then you write that Ranieri is the Chelsea manager and you stop there.

"I don't take any notice of what is written. I am not a young man anymore, I have quite a thick skin and I can put up with it. I come to the training ground, do my work and enjoy what I am doing.

"People write that Sven-Goran Eriksson is coming or that someone else is coming, but it doesn't matter. I did not read the newspapers when I was in Italy and I do not read them here."

Ranieri will still be without skipper Marcel Desailly (ankle) and Emmanuel Petit (knee), but John Terry will return to the heart of defence and captain the team against Lazio.

The Blues opened their Champions League campaign with a victory at Sparta Prague but lost the second game at home to Besiktas, so they must avoid another slip or will face an uphill task to qualify from the group.

Ranieri will also keep faith with keeper Carlo Cudicini, whose blunder at Highbury on Saturday gifted Arsenal a 2-1 victory. He added: "Carlo is a strong man and a fantastic player and I am sure he will show his best performance tomorrow."