Embattled Chelsea manager Andres Villas-Boas claims he has the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich.
With Chelsea’s bad run of form and with the club slipping behind Arsenal in to 5th place all eyes have been on their young manager, with it becoming obvious to everyone that there are problems in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge.
AVB says that he does not have the backing of some of the players at Chelsea while he plans on building a side for the future.
Despite Chelsea’s results, and the internal problems Villas-Boas is sure that Abramovich isn’t about to fire him.
“They (the players) don’t have to back my project,” said the ex-Porto manager Villas-Boas. “It’s the owner who backs my project.
“The players don’t put themselves behind the project because they don’t know what the project is. They know they are part of this one, of winning two trophies at the moment.
“But I think the owner has full trust in me and will continue to progress with the ideas that we have.
“My authority is total because it’s the owner’s authority.”
There has been much speculation as to the young manager’s role at Chelsea with owner Roman Abramovich spending more, and more time at the training ground.
“Whenever somebody gives the vote of confidence, it’s the end,” said the ex-Porto manager. “Maybe I don’t want one!
“I know I am under pressure for results, but ultimately it is the owner who has to take that decision.
“From me, there will be no decision to Part Company with my project for Chelsea.
“The funniest thing in football is the vote of confidence.
“It means it is the end, whenever you have a vote of confidence. In the end, it would not make any difference.”
“I think it helps, because the leader is showing that there is a two-way leadership process going on – the players and the leader.
“But there are different styles that have proven successful in the past; a more dictatorial style.
“We have had a meeting of technical staff and players, nothing dramatic.
“I think everybody understands that we need more. Results have not been good enough.
“The run of results hasn’t been impressive, so responsibility must be shared with players and management and that’s exactly how it went.
“In the end, that is the objective of getting us the best position possible in the league, plus these two trophies, which we are fighting for.
“It will be extremely good for us if we win against Birmingham to put ourselves in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
“But we need strong progression in the league and to show our strength to be in contention for fourth place – as third is already 10 points ahead of us – so that we get Champions League qualification.”
It will be interesting to see if Abramovich will allow AVB to rebuild an aging team or if lack of results will have him looking for a new manager.
