Captain Terry showed his leadership qualities again last night when he scored his first goal at Stamford Bridge for two years to earn a vital 1-0 win over Roma in the Champions League.

But the 27-year-old was fuming at continued speculation over how he managed to return for Chelsea's last two games after missing England's World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Belarus with a back injury.

"People should know what I'm like as a player and as a character," said Terry. "It's just disappointing that anyone would question my determination to play for my club or country.

"No one was more gutted than me, as England captain, to walk away from the squad last week and watch them travel to Belarus.

"I did everything to get fit but my back just wasn't right. I have worked hard my whole career not to miss any games. It has been frustrating the last two years because I've picked up a few injuries.

"But England is the ultimate. You get picked for England by playing well for your club. England is far bigger than Chelsea, far bigger than Manchester United because you're representing your country and we're all very proud to do it, no-one more than me.

"I don't understand where all this is coming from, the back is completely fine. I've had no bad responses since the operation and I've been doing exercises since then, which I need to continue doing. But I'm in a fit condition and raring to go. I have just had a stiff back which we can all get."

Meanwhile, Chelsea's midfield playmaker Deco insists he can play a pivotal part in bringing success to the club for years to come after quickly adapting to life in England.

The influential 31-year-old was inspirational against Roma and his performance further underlined his desire to help Luiz Felipe Scolari to bring more glory to the Blues.

His move from Spain raised a few eyebrows in England but, apart from a thigh injury sustained in the warm-up against Manchester United, Deco's transition appears to have been faultless.

He now believes that he can remain at the top of his game for the length of his Chelsea contract.

"I have a three-year contract here but I don't think about next year, just the present and that is good.

"I don't know how I will be playing in three years but if I continue doing well I think I can do some important things for Chelsea.

"I don't feel old and I think I have three or four more years at the top.

"I felt I would adapt okay because Chelsea had players that I'd played with before at Porto and Barcelona.

"I want to continue playing very well to win as many games as possible. Because I came from Barcelona, it was important that I played well from the start.

"But it will be even better if I am able to finish well."

Deco's thigh injury kept him out of the side for a few weeks but he returned as a substitute in the 5-0 drubbing of Middlesbrough before being pitched into action from the start against Roma.

"The injury came at a bad time for me," admitted Deco. "I was playing well and I was in good condition physically. But injuries never come when you want them to."

Deco has already won the Champions League twice - once with Porto and again with Barcelona - and with Chelsea now sitting on top of Group A, he is gunning to make it a hat-trick and become only the second player to win with a third different club.

"I think about it because I also know that the Champions League is the most important trophy that Chelsea have never won," said Deco.

"It would be important for the club to win it and I also have the opportunity to win the competition again. This is a great challenge for me.

"To win it with Porto was not a surprise for me because we had a great team.

"One year before we won the UEFA Cup and we had some very good players but you look at Real Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Juventus and the English teams and it is difficult to think Porto can win it."