Cahill keen to stay at Chelsea after 'positive' talks

Chelsea's Gary Cahill in action with Watford's Troy Deeney Reuters / Stefan Wermuth Livepic

(Reuters) - Unsettled Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has held "positive" talks with interim manager Guus Hiddink about his future and said he was keen to stay at the club. A source close to the player told Reuters last week that the 30-year-old centre back feared he might miss out on this year's European Championship if he was not playing more regularly. The England vice-captain has played more than 170 games for Chelsea but has made only 12 league appearances this season as Kurt Zouma and John Terry have become preferred starters. The frustration was such that the player, who signed a new four-year contract in December, felt he might have to leave. "I did have a good chat with him, he was very approachable and it was beneficial, very positive. Obviously I want to be at the club. I signed a four-year contract a couple of months ago so that shows I want to be here," Cahill told the club's website (www.chelseafc.com). "But ultimately, I feel like I need to play football matches. I've always been that way; it's always been in my make-up to play a high percentage of games. I realise sometimes things go well, sometimes they don't, but it's very important for me to play football matches." Chelsea, who are 13th in the standings but unbeaten in nine games in all competitions, will look to continue their climb up the league when they face 10th-placed Watford on Wednesday. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Justin Palmer)