Chelsea players warned as headlines about John Terry and Ashley Cole tarnish image

By Alex Shaw Published: 6:07PM GMT 19 Feb 2010

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The club held a meeting this week at their Cobham training ground to discuss the furore surrounding the private lives of captain John Terry and defender Ashley Cole.

Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, agreed to hold the meeting on Wednesday following talks with Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, and Ron Gourlay, the club"s chief executive.

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Cole was the subject of unsavoury allegations concerning his private life and was said to have sent illicit text messages to a topless model. The latest indiscretions in the Chelsea camp come as Terry, the deposed England captain, continues to be scrutinised following his affair with Vanessa Perroncel, the former fiance of former Chelsea team-mate Wayne Bridge.

Ancelotti had previously claimed he was not concerned with the private lives of his players but Abramovich was eager to set up a meeting to highlight the responsibilities of the players.

"I spoke to the players and Ron [Gourlay] did too I think it was the owner"s idea, and Ron spoke for the owner. We said they have to pay attention to their behaviour. The image of the club is very important and we expect good behaviour from everyone," Ancelotti said.

"This goes for everyone who works at this club. This is a prevention because I"m not interested in the past. We have to look at the club in the future. This is a line in the sand.

"The aim of the club is to give a good image "outside", for the fans and all the people who look at Chelsea. Now they know very well what they have to do, and what behaviour is expected of them when they wear the Chelsea shirt."

Terry and Cole, along with the rest of the Chelsea players, were given a stern reminder of their responsibilities in the 10-minute meeting and it is understood they have taken the warning on board. If any further allegations come to light they will face a severe reprimand.

Terry missed Chelsea"s FA Cup victory over Cardiff last Sunday because he was given compassionate leave to visit his wife in Dubai, but the captain is back in the team to face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux on Saturday.

The former England captain was tormented by Louis Saha as Everton beat Ancelotti"s side 2-1 in their last outing in the Premier League the fourth time they have lost away from Stamford Bridge this season.

Ahead of their trip to Molineux, Ancelotti admitted Terry was far from his best in the game against Everton but is confident his mind has not wavered in light of his off-field problems.

"Terry didn"t do so well against Everton, but I have to look at what he did this week. He trained well and I think he will put in a very good performance against Wolves," Ancelotti added.

"I don"t think it affected him he"s not perfect. Sometimes he can make a mistake. It will be a very difficult match against Wolves because they have improved their performances in the last few games."

Chelsea have won just once in six away matches and as he embarks on a crucial stage in his debut season in English football, Ancelotti is adamant his side remain focused on dethroning Manchester United as champions.

Sir Alex Ferguson"s team could go two points ahead of Chelsea at the top if they beat Everton on Saturday lunchtime and, having watched United dismantle his former club, AC Milan, in the Champions League on Tuesday, Ancelottiis under no illusions as to the threat they pose in the title race.

"I"m very angry with Manchester United because they beat Milan and I"m not happy about this. United showed that they are invery good condition at the moment," Ancelotti said.

"We have to improve our attention because they are very close to us. We have one more point, and we want to maintain this and, maybe, improve after the game against Wolves."

Frank Lampard will miss the trip to Wolves because of a virus, which means Joe Cole could start despite his ineffective performance against Cardiff last week.