Terry in 'great state of mind'............

John Terry insists he is in a "great state of mind" as he prepares to lead England for the first time since facing allegations of racism.The Chelsea defender is set to regain the armband in Tuesday's friendly against Sweden, having been left out of the side in the 1-0 win over world champions Spain.

Terry had been told by the FA not to answer questions regarding the police investigation into alleged comments towards QPR's Anton Ferdinand but he did reveal his gratitude for the support of his team-mates. Speaking to the media for the first time about the ongoing furore, he said of his colleagues' reaction: "It's been very good, very supportive, publicly and personally, so I'm delighted about that. "I'm delighted to be leading the team out again. It's the biggest honour of all. I think (Saturday) showed that we're united, no matter what. "I'm in a great state of mind, completely focused on playing well and training. Nothing has changed."

Doubts have been voiced about Terry's form, and with strong competition for places in central defence, the skipper recognises he must fight for his shirt. Terry said: "I don't feel undroppable  The 30-year-old added: "I think the players have showed we're united no matter what and put in a very good performance (against Spain). "Some real positives came from the game. 

Mark's Monday Moan: Average England

Mark Holmes hits out at over-blown opinions of the England team, media hypocrisy and the St James' Park name change in his latest Monday Moan.

I've been given licence by the top dogs at TEAMtalk Towers to vent my spleen every Monday - and I'm pretty sure I'll never be short of something to write about.

Silva should recover – Mancini,,,,

Roberto Mancini played down fears of a David Silva injury after he limped out of Manchester City's 3-0 Champions League win at Villarreal.City's playmaker, a star man for them so far this season, left the field clutching his back in the second half before his side recorded a Group A victory at El Madrigal. However, manager Mancini said afterwards he was not concerned. He said: "I don't think this is serious. He took a knock on his back. "Also we play again in 60 hours against QPR. I think he can recover well."

Meanwhile, Mancini believes City can look forward to their vital clash away to Napoli with confidence after sweeping Villarreal aside.Their hopes of progress were already likely to hinge on their trip to Naples later this month but now they have a two-point advantage over the Italians, victory will make certain. Mancini said: "I think this win is important because now we have a good chance. "We know that everything will be in Naples. "I think it will be an incredible atmosphere. There will be 70,000 people at the stadium. "I think it is very difficult to play but it is important to go there with this result. 

Mancini was also unaware that someone may have been attempting to put Balotelli off by shining a laser pen at him as he prepared to take his penalty. The result left Villarreal bottom of the group without a point and ended their mathematical chances of progressing. The Yellow Submarine, who have endured a miserable start to their domestic season, were without a host of key players and were well beaten by the final whistle. Their under-pressure coach Juan Carlos Garrido said: "It was a very difficult game. "I want to congratulate the winners tonight. We all know this is a very hard competition.

Rooney was midfield machine,,,,,,

Sir Alex Ferguson praised Wayne Rooney's display in an unaccustomed central midfield role in Manchester United's 2-0 win over Otelul Galati.

The England international played in a withdrawn position in the weekend win over Everton and found himself alongside Anderson for Wednesday night's Champions League Group C match at Old Trafford because of injuries to Michael Carrick and Tom Cleverley while Darren Fletcher is working his way back to fitness. Rooney responded by dictating from deep as it was his long diagonal pass which started the build-up to Antonio Valencia's eighth-minute goal and he rounded off a laboured team performance with a hugely-deflected goal late one. "I think he was our best player. He showed great awareness of that role," said Ferguson. "His selection of passes at times was very good and showed great energy and determination - we got a really good performance out of him tonight"We had injuries and that is one of the reasons we played him there. "Cleverley is injured, Carrick is injured, Darren Fletcher played on Saturday but it was better he played next Saturday. Victory put United top of Group C from Benfica, who visit Old Trafford next later this month. It puts the Red Devils in pole position to qualify for the knockout stage. "We've won the game and it has put us in the position where if we win that we've won the group so that is the incentive for us," added Ferguson. "Given the history between both clubs (us and Benfica) it should be a good night, a good atmosphere, a really big game and we can look forward to that one.

The only downside was an injury to Michael Owen, who lasted just 10 minutes before limping off. "It's a blow for the lad. He's done a thigh muscle and it's a complete freak," said the United boss. "I feel for him. It's difficult to say how long-term it is." Otelul coach Dorinel Munteanu was disappointed with the final result as he felt his side did well at Old Trafford.