Blues chief plays down Mata talk

by Setanta Staff , 21 August 2011

Andre Villas-Boas claims he does not know anything about Chelsea's reported £22million bid to sign Valencia's midfielder Juan Mata.


The Blues chief was speaking after watching his side hit back from a goal down to defeat West Brom 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, thanks to second half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

And, following reports that Chelsea had recently failed to entice Spanish La Liga side Valencia with an initial offer of £18million for 24-year-old Mata and another £4million based on appearances, Villas-Boas was playing it down.

He said: "I don't know anything about that."

Meanwhile the Portuguese tactician blamed anxiety for his Blues' players lacklustre first half display but claimed their 'talent' got them through.

"It is just the players' talent that makes the difference. Their mental attitude for the second half was good," Villas-Boas said.

"There was a sense of realising the space and better options without being anxious like they were in the first half. It goes down to them.

"It was a difficult game. The first goal (from Shane Long) was very early and the crowd became anxious and that passed onto the pitch.

"We weren't able to play to our level. We had to remove the anxiety and be mentally tranquil.The players were able to free themselves from that and work at their best."

Subscribe to Setanta
Hungary v Ireland

Setanta Sports broadcasts exclusively live coverage of the best premium football, rugby and motorsport including Barclays Premier League, Rugby World Cup 2011, French Top 14, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, League of Ireland, Rabobank Pro12 and Golf from around the World.

Edit Web Part Contents