Villas-Boas in defiant mood

by Setanta Staff , 23 February 2012 Chelsea

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas insists he retains the full backing of owner Roman Abramovich despite the club's recent poor form.


The Blues are fifth in the Barclays Premier League and look to be heading out of the Champions League following their 3-1 defeat to Napoli on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old's future has been the source of speculation over the last few weeks and reports have claimed there are rifts within the Stamford Bridge dressing room. But when asked whether he still has the backing of Abramovich, Villas-Boas told a press conference on Thursday afternoon: "Yes. Of course."

Villas-Boas controversially left out Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole for the first leg of the last-16 tie in Italy, which Chelsea led before a defensive horror show saw them concede three goals.

The Portuguese stood by his team selection, although he did admit he had to explain why he chose the starting XI he did to the club's hierarchy.

He said: "No, I do not have any regrets about team selection... It was completely right. I have spoken to the persons near to him (Abramovich). He is disappointed and asking questions about how we set up the team, which were duly explained."

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Pos
Team P W D L +/- PTS
1.
Man City
38
28
5
5
64
89
2.
Man Utd
38
28
5
5
56
89
3.
Arsenal
38
21
7
10
25
70
4.
Tottenham
38
20
9
9
25
69
5.
Newcastle
38
19
8
11
5
65
6.
Chelsea
38
18
10
10
19
64
7.
Everton
38
15
11
12
10
56
8.
Liverpool
38
14
10
14
7
52
9.
Fulham
38
14
10
14
-3
52
10.
West Brom
38
13
8
17
-7
47
11.
Swansea
38
12
11
15
-7
47
12.
Norwich
38
12
11
15
-14
47
13.
Sunderland
38
11
12
15
-1
45
14.
Stoke
38
11
12
15
-17
45
15.
Wigan
38
11
10
17
-20
43
16.
Aston Villa
38
7
17
14
-16
38
17.
QPR
38
10
7
21
-23
37
18.
Bolton
38
10
6
22
-31
36
19.
Blackburn
38
8
7
23
-30
31
20.
Wolverhampton
38
5
10
23
-43
25
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