John Terry reflects on the 'horrible' feeling of a Wembley loss to Arsenal

Considering that the squad took to heart the shock defeat in the preseason warm-up match against New York Red Bulls in the USA, it's hardly surprising that Sunday's rare loss to Arsenal has made an impact in the dressing room as well.  Glorified friendly or not, captain John Terry has called the result "horrible" but has assured that we'll take the positives from it and use those as motivation for the season ahead.  A blessing in disguise, a wake-up call, if you will.  Yes, that's loser talk, by definition.  But we didn't win.  So we'll have to do better.

"It was a different atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards. We haven't lost many at Wembley. With that in mind, it's maybe the boost we needed and we go again for the season. It could be a blessing in disguise for us - a wake-up call. We have experience in the squad. We have the character. It's going to be even tougher this year."

-John Terry; source: Guardian

We spent the whole first year of Mourinho's second stint with the club (re-)developing the winning mentality of the club and the young players.  When you expect to win everything, it hurts to lose anything.

"It's disappointing because it hasn't happened too many times since I have been at the club. Losing is just horrible in all respects. Forget the record, there was a trophy on the line. It hurt when you saw them walk up the stairs to lift it. When you see them walk up, no matter if it's a friendly or a Community Shield, it's a trophy. That's the mentality I was brought up in. That's the same as the manager on a daily basis. That's what he wants and demands from his players as well."

-John Terry; source: Guardian

The season starts on Saturday.  Time to start focusing.