Chelsea captain Terry ready to face his Champions League demons on return to Moscow

At the risk of upsetting club owner Roman Abramovich, the Russian capital was unlikely to be high on Terry's list of preferred pre-season destinations.

But, like it or not, Terry and company return to Moscow after the final game of their Asia tour against a Malaysia select XI on Tuesday to compete in a mini-tournament of little significance involving AC Milan, Sevilla and hosts Lokomotiv.

Getting over the pain: John Terry is consoled by Frank Lampard after his penalty miss in the Champions League Final last May.

On their last visit, the stakes could not have been higher. No doubt somewhere in the Terry household there is a DVD of that epic encounter last May.

But the chance to watch himself in tears after having failed to convert a penalty which would have won his side the Champions League does not feature on his to-do list.

Has he watched the game since? 'No'.

Is he tempted to do so? 'No'.

Neither, however, is Terry wallowing in self-pity. Instead, his focus is on how best as captain to drive his teammates forward towards next season's Champions League Final.

'New season, we go again,' is Terry's message. 'I was devastated after the Champions League Final, there is no doubt about that and it is obviously weird to be going back there. I think what was good for me was to have the England game straight after the Champions League, it put me back on the straight and narrow.

'I do still think about it and I did over the summer but it was great to get back on the pitch, get the goal for England and go away and get a break. That is what I needed to prepare for this season.

'I have to be professional about it and totally forget about it now for the forthcoming season. I'm still playing and I've still got a great set of players around me. I have still got a great chance of winning the Champions League and I am going to do all I can to make the most of my opportunities.

'We've made some great signings and with these kinds of players coming to the club there's no point me thinking: 'Oh, I could have won the Champions League that year' when I'm 35 or 40.

'It's down to me to drive this team forward again and push to get this team where we got. I thought we showed great strength of character with all the disappointments we had last season.

'I think with the changes in manager during the season, it showed what a great team we are and now we've got a manager who can lead the team as well, it's fantastic.'

Whether that amounts to a dig at Avram Grant or not, Terry leaves you with the impression that in Luiz Felipe Scolari he has found a kindred spirit - and the skipper is enjoying getting to know his new manager in the confined space of the pre-season tour.

New faces: The arrival of Scolari and Deco has provided Terry and the club with optimism.

'He has got a good sense of humour but there is the other side to him as well, believe me,' said Terry. 'We've not seen it yet, but I'm sure we will do over the course of the season!

'First and foremost, he's a great football man with a great knowledge. He's passed on some great things to us already in training with his methods and I think we've shown that in the first couple of games.

'Around the hotels he's relaxed and he likes the players to enjoy themselves. He likes us to be relaxed in training and show what we can do. At team dinners and meetings he likes everyone to have their opinion and he sits and listens as well.'

The whole squad have had to listen to Deco and Jose Bosingwa entertain them with a song - as is the tradition at Chelsea for the newcomers. Terry is even expecting Scolari and chief executive Peter Kenyon to do a turn at some point on the trip.

'Bosingwa was shocking, to be fair,' joked Terry. 'But Deco did all right. It might sound silly to some people but it's been a tradition for years and it maybe helps people settle in. It's a great test of character.'

With that sense of camaraderie, a new manger to impress and a renewed determination to win Europe's elite competition, Terry might just find that being back in Moscow is not so painful after all.