Chelsea owner offers Russians £40k per man to beat England

Details of the incredible gesture from Chelsea's billionaire benefactor, who bankrolls Guus Hiddink's £1.5million-a-year salary as Russia coach, were disclosed just 24 hours before tonight's Euro 2008 qualifier at Wembley.

England skipper Terry is one of four Chelsea players in an unchanged team following Saturday's 3-0 triumph over Israel, but Abramovich has put club loyalties to one side in order to give Russia a huge incentive to qualify for next summer's finals.

Around £15,000 a man is coming from the Russian Football Union, which is funded by Abramovich, and another £25,000 has been guaranteed from the Russian National Football Academy, which is also backed by the Chelsea owner.

Russia striker Alexander Kerzhakov said: "For me it doesn't really matter if it's Abramovich's money or someone else's.

"I play for the colours of the Russian flag and not for banknotes."

Steve McClaren's side are under pressure to record a second successive victory at Wembley and they will move into second place in Group E if they beat the Russians.

McClaren appears to have adopted a typically English approach in the build-up to the game and he admitted that he has told his players to "get in the faces" of Russia's players.

England's head coach said: "Teams don't like the way English players play and the way they are always in their faces, playing with a high tempo, being strong, physical and powerful. That was the key behind the win over Israel.

"We will definitely be trying the same again. It's an important part of the style that England play."

McClaren's gung-ho attitude is a noticeable departure from the patient passing game that he intended to adopt when he first became England coach, but his thoughts were echoed by his skipper yesterday.

Terry admitted that England's robust approach against Israel last Saturday had met with the approval of the players and they intend to adopt the same tactics this evening.

The England captain said: "You don't earn the right to three points just because you are England. You have to fight for it.

"When you're playing for Chelsea against Man U, if you give them time to play, they will find something from nothing.

"But if you get in their faces and put them under pressure, they will make mistakes. We did that with Israel."