John Terry has admitted Chelsea's players are culpable for the team's toils this season and need to "hold their hands up" over André Villas-Boas's sacking as the club's manager only eight months into a three-year contract.

The captain is in contention to feature in Saturday's visit of Stoke City having returned a month ahead of schedule from exploratory surgery on his knee, and was an unused substitute as the interim first-team coach, Roberto Di Matteo, oversaw Tuesday's FA Cup fifth-round replay victory at Birmingham City.

While some senior players had become disgruntled under Villas-Boas, Terry was broadly supportive of the manager, who had consistently backed the defender after he was charged with a racially aggravated public order offence following an altercation with Anton Ferdinand at QPR in October.

A sequence of three wins in 12 Premier League matches, culminating in last Saturday's 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, has seen Chelsea drop out of the top four and prompted Roman Abramovich, much to his own frustration, to sack Villas-Boas in person during a visit to the training ground on Sunday. "It's sad for André because, unfortunately, it falls on his head when I think the players will hold their hands up and say clearly: 'We've not been good enough and we have all made mistakes together,'" Terry said.

"We came to Birmingham and dug deep for him, and for Robbie [Di Matteo] taking charge and for Eddie [Newton] coming in as well [on to the coaching staff]. It's nice to have familiar faces around who know the club. We have done enough talking among ourselves for the last three or four months, and Robbie came in and said those exact same things as well, we have to show commitment for the shirt. He has played here, the same as Eddie, and we have to fight for the shirt and that has been the message to the lads for this game."

Di Matteo is expected to take charge of the first team until the end of the season, when a long-term successor for Villas-Boas will be appointed. Chelsea's hierarchy is deliberating over potential candidates.

Rafael Benítez is unlikely to be considered, particularly given the negative reaction by the club's supporters at St Andrew's to the Spaniard's interest in the position, though José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola – potentially optimistic targets – will be sounded out. The need to qualify for the Champions League next season remains paramount and has been prioritised within the club, not least by Di Matteo in terms of team selection.

Terry will hope to prove his fitness against Stoke before next week's second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Napoli, which Chelsea trail 3-1 from the first game at the Stadio San Paolo. The captain has not played since the fourth-round FA Cup victory at QPR in late January. "Once I had the operation, I was literally jogging about after two days, which was incredible," he added. "I said to the physios, the way things were here, I just wanted to push myself and be involved and try to get back as quickly as possible.

"I've done that, worked really hard in the gym, been on triple sessions going back late in the evening on my own as well – which has been tough. The target for myself was always to get back and hopefully be back for the Stoke game, so this is a massive boost for me."