Terry: We must go to Istanbul for tie

John Terry today urged his Chelsea team-mates to travel to Turkey if they are forced to play next month's Champions League match against Besiktas in Istanbul.

Chelsea have asked UEFA to switch the 9 December tie to a neutral venue as their players are concerned for their safety following last week's bomb attacks, but the club have yet to receive any assurances that their wishes will be granted.

Six Chelsea stars refused to travel to Israel for a UEFA Cup tie against Hapoel Tel Aviv two years ago because of security fears, but Terry is confident that such a revolt can be avoided on this occasion.

He said: "The players haven't discussed it at all as we've got a few games before then but we'll definitely be going. I definitely want to play there and it's no problem for us. We'll have to sit down and talk about it but there's no doubt about what I think.

"I can only speak from my own point of view but I want to go and play. The talks will start with the manager but there'll be a chance for the players to express their views and as captain I'd like to be involved. I hope we'll be going."

Chelsea were expected to be given a decision yesterday but the club have yet to hear from UEFA. European football's governing body have already acted to postpone tonight's game in Istanbul between Galatasaray and Juventus, now scheduled for next Tuesday, and are thought to be making their decisions on a match-by-match basis.

Chelsea chief executive Paul Smith said: "We put in our request to move the game to a neutral territory yesterday and have not heard back from UEFA. We made our position clear that in the interests of safety and security we feel the match should be moved."

The Besiktas game, however, could become an irrelevance if Chelsea beat Sparta Prague tomorrow at Stamford Bridge.

Claudio Ranieri's side need a single point from their penultimate Group G game to qualify for the second stage, but his players are determined to finish top of the table.

Terry said: "There are two games to go and we want to win the group, so if that means winning two games then we'll have to do that. Winning the group could make life a lot easier for us further down the line and would give us a massive boost. We're looking forward to it."

Hernan Crespo and Juan Veron will return to the squad after being rested in Saturday's win at Southampton, while Mario Melchiot will retain his place as Glen Johnson is suspended. The Dutch defender scored the only goal at the St Mary's Stadium and is expecting a difficult game.

He said: "Sparta Prague still have plenty to play for in the group so they'll come to Stamford Bridge looking for three points. Their side are made up of internationals from the Czech Republic, who are one of the top seeds at Euro 2004, so we're in for a difficult match. We'll attack them as best we can and I'm sure that we'll break them down at some stage.

"So often you see football teams make life more difficult for themselves but we don't intend to fall into that trap. Good results in Europe have put us in a great position to go through and we mustn't waste it. It would be so much nicer to win qualification in front of our own fans and no-one at Chelsea wants to sweat it out in Turkey."

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