Family fortunes rest with Terry

JOHN TERRY is carrying his family's hopes of success this season after his big brother Paul missed out on promotion to the Football League, writes Simon Johnson.

The Chelsea defender, 21, was watching from the sidelines as Paul played in Dagenham's 3-0 win over Chester on Sunday.

And John was there to console him when it was confirmed that Boston had won at Hayes to seal promotion to Division Three from the Conference. Paul, two years his senior, will be supporting John in Cardiff tomorrow.

He said: "It will help me get over my disappointment if John were to lift the trophy and I will be there cheering him on. The worse thing for Dagenham is we lost out on goal difference. If we had lost by a few points it would have been easier to cope with, but this hurts a lot more.

"It would be great, though, if John can win the FA Cup. When he won a medal in 2000 against Aston Villa he was only on the bench, but it would be fantastic for him to be on from the start and help Chelsea win."

A Chelsea victory would end a turbulent season for John, who has had a fine time on the pitch overshadowed by problems off it.

He is awaiting trial for an alleged assault, but Paul said: "John has got his head sorted out and hopefully he will cap the season off by winning the FA Cup. John has put all the problems behind him and he has coped with it all very well. I am very proud of him especially because, despite everything, he has played really well for Chelsea.

"John has had to grow up fast this season because he has had a lot of things thrown at him. He got Player of the Year at Chelsea last season, which was an achievement in itself, and is now being talked about as a future England star. You can't have a higher accolade than that.

"I have no doubt he will go on to play for his country and the family will be there to support him."

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