Back at the club for over a month now, Ray Wilkins has been watching the manager and captain closely, and has nothing but praise for either.

Appointed in the summer, Luiz Felipe Scolari is a newcomer to the club, yet Wilkins has been impressed with the Brazilian's methods. By contrast, it was 10 years yesterday since John Terry made his Chelsea debut.

'He was exactly the same bloke then as he is now, but obviously he has more stature in the game,' Wilkins said of the captain. 'He was a very strong, determined character, even at that age. Bear in mind he was learning under Marcel Desailly, and he took everything on board and become the player that he is.

'He is also a very dominating human being as well, so in that aspect he has matured into a good specimen of a bloke. He is different class, [and in this situation] you need men around you.'

Speaking with relation to Scolari, and the reaction of the manager to defeat against Liverpool on Sunday, Wilkins added: 'We had a little chat on Monday and he put his points across. He rates [the team] extremely highly of course and is pleased with the group he has. We must stay collective and we will be okay.

'Felipe is massive on the group of players that we have and the club itself. He drives the players forward as a group, not just 11 individuals, so is big on getting us together and chatting as a group, insisting that was just a blip against Liverpool and we have to crack on.

'He was as disappointed as the rest but he is quite an upbeat guy. He is a breath of fresh air, and has a load of emotion. He was good after the game. His main priority was to make sure they weren't too down. There was no anger.

'He is very hands on. If you want to have a word with him it is not a problem, any player can have a word with him and he will attempt to sort the situation out. He loves the group of players, and enjoys the work, he does all the training and loves the involvement. I have been very impressed.'

Wilkins now predicts a strong reaction, and is pleased to welcome Joe Cole back into the squad, despite the continued absence of three important players.

'The reaction of the players is very important and the players coming back are very important to us as well. Look at the three that won't take part in Michael Ballack, Michael Essien and Didier Drogba, any club in the world would take those three players, and we are missing them unfortunately.

'Didier's back in training with us but we can't quite pin down a day [for a return to action] at the moment. It's good to see the big chap back out on the training pitch.'

Scolari suggested on Sunday that the Ivorian would be missing for around another 10 days yet, and so it is that Cole is the only player to return for Hull.

The home side have injury issues of their own, with left-back Andy Dawson rated as 50-50 by manager Phil Brown after being taken off against West Brom with a dead leg.

'It looks as though he is responding to treatment and I wouldn't rule him out,' Brown said. 'If he is available, I will have a tough decision to make because Sam Ricketts came on and did very well.'

Former Spurs and Liverpool man Nick Barmby could also be involved after coming through a behind-closed-doors game.

Watch the full 90 minutes on Chelsea TV tonight, starting at midnight.