Captain John Terry has hinted Chelsea’s odds of 8/1 with betfred.com to retain the Premier League title this season could probably be about right after “going off course recently”.

The central defender, never shy of voicing his opinion for both club and country over recent seasons, has seen the Blues slide down from top spot to fifth place in the table with over half the season now gone.

Chelsea’s form has been utterly abject – one win in nine league games proves that – and Carlo Ancelotti will be glad they negotiated their Champions League group before hitting their sticky patch (Chelsea 5/1 – Champions League Outright).

And now Terry, who will have taken the malaise to heart, admits the chance of winning the title again could well turn out to be a pipe dream.

The 30-year-old told the Daily Star: “Our recent performances have not been good enough, we’re not playing at the level we can and we’re slipping further behind the leaders with every point we drop.”

Terry added: “This squad should be challenging at the top of the league, winning games and pushing hard in every competition.

“That remains our aim, even if we have gone off course recently. But, before we start thinking about silverware, we have to concentrate on starting to win games again.”

Chelsea are back in action on Sunday when they play host to Blackburn in the Premier League.