Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez and captain John Terry have moved to dispel reports that there has been a breakdown in their relationship.
Reports on Sunday suggested that Terry and Benitez had clashed earlier this month but the former England skipper put the claims to one side as he made a goalscoring return for the Blues in their 4-0 win over Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round replay.
A knee injury meant Sunday was only Terry's third start under Benitez but the defender was quick to deny reports of a rift.
"It's complete rubbish," Terry told ITV. "There are stories today in the papers, but it is complete lazy journalism.
"The manager knows me and knows I want to play but I've been out for three or four months but the other two [centre-backs] have been doing well so there's a lot of competition in the side and we'll all fight for it."
Benitez was also quizzed on the reports but made it clear that he is on good terms with the club captain.
"We were surprised today with some comments. It's totally rubbish. We didn't have any problem. We were talking about football with the team," Benitez said.
"He was training yesterday, we had normal conversations. Everything was fine. I was really surprised."