After harsh words for his team-mates in midweek, John Terry was overjoyed with the reaction of the side in winning at Blackburn on Sunday.

The captain, who included himself in the criticism, had demanded an improvement and attitude and application following Champions League defeat at Roma, and the boys duly delivered with a strong performance at Ewood Park in difficult conditions.

With heavy rain falling in the run up to kick-off and throughout the entirety of the first half, there were question marks over whether referee Chris Foy would be able to let the game continue.

Our usual passing game was interrupted slightly by the increasingly waterlogged pitch, but we dug in to produce a fine display.

'The water holding the ball up made it very difficult for both teams, but I think the ref did very well and judged it every 10 minutes. I thought we dealt with that pressure in the first half, got the ball down second half and managed to play our football,' Terry said.

He also conceded that there was a possibility Foy would have to call a halt to proceedings.

'Possibly, Chris was saying he would assess it, and it stopped, so we're delighted with that and the three points.

'We played good attacking football, both teams actually, and the surface made it difficult particularly for the boys in midfield, but once again another good response from us.

'[The result in Roma] was disappointing but that's the sign of a very big team which we are,' he continued. 'It was the response we wanted, the talk in the dressing room before the game was we can't perform like that again, we have to match Blackburn which we did and we got the performance as well.'

The win returned us to the top of the Premier League after Liverpool had taken the position temporarily following their win against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Terry believes that by maintaining our form, it increases the demands on the sides chasing.

'We're back on top, hopefully we can stay there a bit longer and it's about keeping our momentum, winning our games and putting the pressure on the teams below us,' said the 27-year-old, who finally praised the work of forward Nicolas Anelka, scorer of both our goals.

'He has been brilliant, when we need him, he has come in from day one in pre-season and been fantastic. Hopefully he continues playing well and scoring goals for us,' Terry said.

Anelka's strikes took him to 11 for the season, while the clean sheet was our eighth in 12 league games, by far the best defensive record in the division.