LONDON 2012: Bertrand wants good Olympics to boost Chelsea chances

By Barrie White, Sportsbeat

HE MADE his Champions League debut in the final against Bayern Munich in May and now Chelsea's Ryan Bertrand is desperate to use his Olympic Games experience as the perfect platform to establish himself at Stamford Bridge.

The appointment of Roberto Di Matteo at Chelsea has been a huge boost for the young English left back - Bertrand knows his Italian manager rates him and believes in his ability to perform at the highest level.

But as he embarks on his debut senior international tournament - Bertrand is determined to use the high-profile exposure of London 2012 to demonstrate to Di Matteo exactly why he deserves to oust Ashley Cole from the Chelsea team next season.

HOPEFUL: Chelsea and England left back Ryan Bertrand is hoping to use his Olympics
experience as a launchpad for his club career

"The best way to get Ashley Cole out of the team at Chelsea is to get in and around him in it," said Bertrand. "He's obviously one of the best left backs in the world and for me to learn from him is fantastic.

"We've got a good relationship to be honest and he's more than happy for me to play games, and tries to push me when he can. As long as I'm getting enough games, then I'm happy with that.

"It's fantastic for me personally that Roberto is manager. He's shown faith me, and it's fantastic for the club too - to have a bit of consistency with the manager - and I think the players will react really well and have a good season."

Bertrand believes he is privileged to be representing Great Britain, with so many players available to boss Stuart Pearce and wants to use the experience to help his career.

He said: "There were hundreds of candidates who could have been part of the Olympic Games and to get here and be part of Team GB and London 2012, which has got so much history behind it, is fantastic and I'm very proud.

"It's another stage to go and showcase my abilities and if it all goes well, then hopefully that would put me in a position to progress with Chelsea." 

@ Sportsbeat 2012