AVB impressed by Terry focus

John Terry proved the fight to clear his name had not affected his game after surviving a trial by fire in Chelsea’s London derby at Tottenham.

Blues captain Terry weathered an early Spurs onslaught and the loss of his central defensive partner – on top of the merciless taunts of the White Hart Lane crowd – to help his side secure a 1-1 draw in their final Barclays Premier League game before Christmas.

Playing barely 24 hours after being charged with a racially aggravated public order offence over October’s altercation with QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, Terry turned in one of his most impressive performances of the season.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas was glowing in his praise of his skipper’s resilience.

“His performances have increased since the incident happened,” Villas-Boas said.

“His commitment, quality and talent are never in doubt.

“He’s completely focused on the cause of this football club.”

That focus was there from first to last whistle, with Terry coming to Chelsea’s rescue in stoppage time by getting a crucial touch on Emmanuel Adebayor’s goalbound shot.

“He anticipated the situation at the end,” said Villas-Boas.

Only when the game was finished did Terry acknowledge his off-field travails by approaching the away supporters, tearing off his shirt and tossing it into the crowd for what was an early Christmas present for one of the fans who backed him throughout the game.

They should also have been celebrating a victory, with the visitors wasting a glut of chances to claim all three points after falling behind inside eight minutes.

Adebayor pounced on yet more hesitancy from Blues goalkeeper Petr Cech to give Tottenham the lead but Daniel Sturridge levelled.

Chelsea then took charge, despite defender Branislav Ivanovic and midfielder John Obi Mikel both limping off with hamstring injuries that meant Jose Bosingwa playing as an emergency centre-half.

Villas-Boas said: “Today showed our character, personality, excellent levels of resilience and adaptation to circumstances.

“Our passing game exploded today to wonderful levels.

“It’s fantastic to watch this team play when they find each other in possession as they did and create opportunities. It’s remarkable, outstanding.

“It should have been a Chelsea win.”

The fact that it was not left the Villas-Boas’ side 11 points behind Manchester City but the Portuguese refused to concede the title.

“If you had said at the beginning of December that we’d go through these games with two wins and two draws, I’d have taken it running into the home fixtures,” he said.

“In terms of the title challenge, it keeps it alive.”

Ivanovic and Mikel both look set to miss the December 26 west London derby with Fulham but Villas-Boas was optimistic David Luiz would be fit to return.

He confirmed he would not recall Alex – who is on the transfer list – to his first-team squad even if it meant continuing to play a full-back or midfielder out of position.