John Terry insists Chelsea have no wish to be the enemy of everyone and want to be loved – as he hit back at pundit Robbie Savage.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho has adopted a siege mentality in an attempt to cope with Chelsea’s myriad issues this season, not least a run of nine losses in 17 matches in all competitions which has left his position as manager under scrutiny. But Terry says the Blues have no wish to be unpopular.

“As an individual or as a football club, we don’t want to be fighting the world,” said the captain, who was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev.

Terry has captained Chelsea to four Premier League titles, three under Mourinho. The defender, 35 next month, played every minute of every game last season, but is one of many Chelsea players to underperform this campaign and was substituted at halftime of August’s loss at Manchester City.

Terry says he accepts criticism from the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, but not from former Leicester, Blackburn and Derby midfielder Savage, who is now an outspoken pundit:

“I’ll take it all day long from the very best, the Rios, the Carraghers, the Nevilles.

“When certain other people speak, maybe not… players who have not had a career, have played at a really bad level throughout their career and come for people who have achieved what I have achieved in the game. Robbie Savage being one.”

Terry says officials need to be accepting of criticism, too, in apparent defense of his manager.

Mourinho was hit with a £40,000 fine and one-match stadium ban on Monday for his halftime dismissal by referee Jonathan Moss at West Ham last month. He is currently banned for Saturday’s match at Stoke, with Chelsea pondering an appeal.

SEE MORE: Mourinho must regain Hazard’s trust to salvage Chelsea’s season.

A separate £50,000 fine and suspended one-match stadium ban for comments made after the Oct. 3 loss to Southampton is subject to an ongoing appeal.

“We want grown-up men conversations with the referees,” Terry said.

“You can have those conversations with referees. They’re open to it. Mark Clattenburg’s open to it and for me there’s no better than him.”

Clattenburg sent off Terry at West Brom in August and the pair addressed the matter after the game at the Hawthorns and again before last Saturday’s match with Liverpool.

“I went to see him after the game. We agreed to disagree,” Terry added.

“I saw him before the game at the weekend. He was still adamant it was a sending-off, I was still adamant it wasn’t.

“You talk about it, but that’s done within an enclosed area. Nobody gets to see that. It didn’t get heated at all.

“We had a man-to-man discussion. He was set in his way, I was set in mine.”

Terry reckons Mourinho and other managers should be permitted to speak freely if they are compelled by broadcasting deals to comment in the immediate aftermath of matches:

“For managers, whether you are winning or losing, you have to come out and face you guys (the media).

“Sometimes that passion does go, but that’s because he cares for the football club. That’s what the fans want to see.

“He gets punished, he gets fined. It’s a little bit unfair. If you guys want honest, immediate answers after the game, give him a bit of freedom.”