Quotes from Gary Cahill

As players we are in control of what we do and the way we prepare for the games.

Diego Costa is Diego Costa. He scores goals. He is an animated character and he is a big personality.

My teammates don't see it, but deep down I find it tough to sit there and not influence big games.

Every experience, good or bad, is a learning process.

I came to Chelsea and it was 'oh you can't play Champions League, you can't do this, you can't do that' and I proved them wrong.

I was told 'you can't play for England, you're at Bolton.' I proved them wrong.

I would never try to fill John Terry's boots. You can never fill that position.

You want to achieve the most you can in the short period you have in your career as a professional footballer.

It is difficult to click your fingers and say, 'Right, go and play that formation now.'

Frank Lampard was fantastic.

When a top club comes calling, who you know will be firing on all fronts with competitions and medals, that's ultimately what you want to be playing for.

The hardest thing is when things are not going so well and you have got to dig in and get results.

Martin O'Neill let me go and he obviously felt that was the right thing at the time. But you go on and want to prove people wrong.

When you think of Bolton you think of the likes of Kevin Davies. He is a captain who leads by example and his qualities got him an England cap.

When I first came to Chelsea, I realised there is an expectation on everybody here and history proved that this club wins trophies. I wanted to be a part of that. Thankfully, I've worked hard, got in the team and I've played my part.

Not every single minute of your career will go well, individually and collectively, and not every season will go how you want it to, but it's how you react to that.

You're not a robot, you're not going to be nine out of 10 every game. But when things aren't going well, you work even harder and look for a reaction.

I realise that sometimes things go well and sometimes they don't. But it is very important for me I feel personally, even selfishly, the need to be playing football matches.

There's opportunities you get that you want to grasp with both hands and you have to cherish them.

For sure I want to achieve records.

It's tough to be left out. At Chelsea I've probably played 90 per cent of the time. It's not something I handle very well.

That's the buzz you want as a footballer - to perform well in the big high-profile games.

Players at the highest level have got high football intelligence, so they can adapt, but at the same time you need a structure and an idea of how you've got to play that system.

I went to the World Cup and didn't play, but I came back with an even higher opinion of Gareth Southgate. It's all about how you treat somebody.