The England captain strenuously denies he abused Anton Ferdinand during a game between Chelsea and QPR at Loftus Road last month.

With Metropolitan Police and Football Association inquiries continuing, he was prevented from discussing the matter at the Grove Hotel in Watford.

In the circumstances, the 30-year-old could easily have swerved the entire session, a traditional eve-of-match engagement for the captain ahead of an England game.

But Terry, who was faced with a number of questions - some direct, some less so - about the subject, felt it was important he fulfilled his commitment after it was confirmed he would return to Fabio Capello's side for the friendly with Sweden at Wembley.

"It is about being captain and coming out and facing up to it," he said. "It is a very proud thing for me to be England captain and come out here and see you guys (the media).

"The easy thing to do would be to step away from it. But I am here, fronting it up and dealing with it today."

However, Terry's assessment was not strictly accurate.

On half a dozen occasions during a half-hour stint with various sections of the media an FA official was forced to intervene, ruling questions to be out of bounds.

Additional security was also installed outside the interview area, giving a further surreal edge to proceedings, even though Terry claimed it was business as usual as far as he was concerned.

He even joked that he thought about coming into the briefings with a piece of tape over his mouth, as was depicted on the back page of a national newspaper.

"I am fine," he said. "There are no problems. Nothing's changed for me. It's nice that the players have supported me, publicly and personally.

"I didn't know what to expect on Saturday and while I got a couple of jeers, that would happen regardless, so the reception has probably has put me at ease."

Indeed, when asked whether former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had been in touch, Terry said he had received messages of support "from across the world".

"People, players and managers have been on the phone and been very supportive of me, but it is unfair to talk about individuals," he added.

It is clearly not the first time Terry has gone into a game with a chaotic background, yet it rarely seems to affect him.

"It is important to deal with your ups and downs, which I have done throughout my career," he said. "One thing I have always loved doing is playing football.

"I did it in the park with my friends when I was younger. It is what I dreamed of as a boy. No-one can ever take that away from me."

In fact, rather than shy away from putting himself into the eye of this particular storm, Terry wanted to do it earlier.

"I wish I could have captained the side last week," he said. "If the manager had picked me against Spain I would have dealt with it my way.

"I've never done things any differently and I won't in the future.

"I am not someone to hide away. Unfortunately I can't speak, we all understand that, with the police and the FA."

In asking to play against Spain, uppermost in Terry's mind was the fear someone would step in and take his place, which Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka have tried to do with their outstanding performances in the 1-0 win, England's first triumph over the reigning world champions since 1980.

"Saturday is a great example of why I want to play in every game," Terry said.

"I didn't want them to make a mistake, but the only thing I could do was sit there and watch two great players really push for my place."

It is why Terry no longer feels quite so sure of his place in Capello's plans, an observation that could be made about so many in the England squad given the explosion of new players this term.

Coming just 17 months after a disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa, it has come as a very pleasant surprise.

"Being honest, I couldn't envisage reaching this point when we were knocked out of the World Cup," Terry admitted.

"Also, I couldn't envisage where the younger players are. Maybe after that the younger players thought, 'You know what, we have got a chance'.

"It only takes the manager to offer them it and it breeds confidence throughout the Premier League. That probably wasn't the case three or four years ago."