Cahill: 'Nobody should be looking anywhere else but focusing on winning something before the end of the season'

Perhaps the biggest impact that John Terry's departure will have on Chelsea is the massive power vacuum he will leave at the top of the food chain.  Who will step into the void?  Current vice-captain Branislav Ivanovic will certainly do his part, but here's England's Brave Gary Cahill firmly and emphatically throwing his hat into the ring as well.

"I think people are realising that, with the history of the club of late, then you can't talk too soon but you'd like to think this year is a slip up in the league if we do not finish in the top four and next year will be totally different. Everyone is hoping for that. Everyone is under contract to the summer and have a competition to fight as hard as they possibly can if they have any ambition to win anything this year."

"What happens in the summer, happens in the summer. It's not for me or for anyone to decide. Everyone is under contract and the club will decide what moves it makes. Everyone should be ambitious. Nobody should be looking anywhere else but focusing on winning something before the end of the season."

That last line is especially timely with the whole hubbub around Eden Hazard's latest words.  While Cahill himself had recently been linked with a potential summer exit, recent events, including Zouma's injury and Terry's impending departure, have made him quite indispensable once again.

"It is such a short career which is why I said a few weeks ago that I want to play football and not let it pass you by, missing games. It's down to whoever that individual is. It's down to their goals and their ambitions and the club's vision."

"Everyone knows this club is very successful. I've been here four years, which is not a very long time, and managed to be successful. This club doesn't need to sell itself to anybody. Everyone has their ambitions but it will be dictated by the club as everyone is under contract."

-Gary Cahill; source: Get West London

Let's hope he's right.  We've seen with other clubs that the downfall can be quick and, thanks to the competitive nature of the Premier League, tough to recover from.  We were a bit lucky in 2012; who knows what the future holds in 2016...