Ian Holloway has tipped Chelsea legend John Terry for a bright future as a manager, amid reports linking him with the top job at Derby County.
Click Here: Sports Water Bottles
The former centre-back went from Aston Villa player last season to Aston Villa coach this season and helped the club seal promotion back to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.
And, after one season on Dean Smith’s staff, he is being linked to the Rams as a potential replacement for Frank Lampard.
According to the Daily Mail, Terry is among the leading candidates to take over at Pride Park if his old friend leaves to succeed Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
Many may question whether Terry would be a wise appointment given his lack of experience – as many did when Lampard was given the job last summer.
But Holloway believes Terry has all the right qualities to succeed in management, saying the former Chelsea and England captain has a ‘wonderful presence’ in the dugout.
Speaking on Tuesday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the ex-Queens Park Rangers boss said: “I was at the play-off final, and I was lucky enough to be working almost around the pitch as all the players first came out.
“He was pulling them aside, talking to them.
“Tyrone Mings said he wanted to go on loan to Aston Villa to learn from him.
“He’s got a presence, and it’s a wonderful presence. There’s a calmness about him. The belief he gave Villa that day…
“Dean Smith doesn’t need John Terry, in my opinion, because Dean Smith and his backroom staff are a different class.
“But Dean has said what a wonderful lad he is, what a wonderful member of staff he is and that’s he’s enjoyed working with him.
“So he’s got all sorts of things that automatically make him look like a manager, to me.”