Angry Grant inspired us to victory, says Chelsea skipper Terry

Chelsea captain John Terry has revealed how a half-time rant from manager Avram Grant helped the club keep the pressure on Manchester United in the title race.

The Blues have closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to three points after they beat Manchester City 2-0 on Saturday and the champions dropped two points in the 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Both teams have two matches to play before they meet on 26 April at Stamford Bridge for what is looking more and more like a title decider.

Chelsea appeared comfortable in their win at City and were leading at the break 1-0, but Terry pinpointed a new approach from the normally laid-back Grant that ensured they did not throw away a chance to close the gap.

Terry said: "In the first half we should have finished the game off and we came in at half-time and got an absolute b********g by the manager, Steve Clarke and Henk Ten Cate. They all said their piece and rightly so.

"The tempo was too slow and lackadaisical and we should have had the game won before we did in the end. The manager was worried that we had taken early leads against Sunderland, Middlesbrough, and Fenerbahce and didn't build on it.

"That's why they did the talk they did because they thought we were going to throw it away again. The second half was much better and we sharpened up a little bit. The second goal killed the game off."