|
|
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas: 'I don’t think we’ll finish below the fourth spot'
Blues boss insists his charges are still competing on two fronts in the form of the Champions League and the FA Cup as they prepare to face Manchester United in the league
5 Feb 2012 08:59:00
By Adithya Ananth
Getty Images
Andre Villas-Boas believes that Chelsea will be able to finish in the Premier League top four and achieve Champions League football in the process.
The Blues are already 15 points behind league leaders Manchester City, and the Portuguese boss believes it would be "unrealistic" to think of a title chase under the present circumstances.
But the west London club also occupy fourth spot in the top-flight, two points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal who registered a thumping 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Newcastle United and Liverpool are not far behind either, but the former Porto boss believes his charges have what it takes to finish in the top four.
"I don’t think we’ll finish below the fourth spot but I have told the players it is unrealistic to think about the title," Villas-Boas said, according to The Sunday Mirror.
The Blues have fallen behind in the Premier League title race and have also been knocked out of the League Cup, but the boss appears to be eyeing the FA Cup and the Champions League.
"There is special negativity when you don’t reach your objectives but you have to bear in mind we are still playing for silverware in two big competitions," said Villas-Boas.
"We are in a period of change but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be successful now.
"At the moment we believe in next year's project but we still believe we can do something this year."
Chelsea play host to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
The Blues are already 15 points behind league leaders Manchester City, and the Portuguese boss believes it would be "unrealistic" to think of a title chase under the present circumstances.
But the west London club also occupy fourth spot in the top-flight, two points ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal who registered a thumping 7-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Newcastle United and Liverpool are not far behind either, but the former Porto boss believes his charges have what it takes to finish in the top four.
"I don’t think we’ll finish below the fourth spot but I have told the players it is unrealistic to think about the title," Villas-Boas said, according to The Sunday Mirror.
The Blues have fallen behind in the Premier League title race and have also been knocked out of the League Cup, but the boss appears to be eyeing the FA Cup and the Champions League.
"There is special negativity when you don’t reach your objectives but you have to bear in mind we are still playing for silverware in two big competitions," said Villas-Boas.
"We are in a period of change but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be successful now.
"At the moment we believe in next year's project but we still believe we can do something this year."
Chelsea play host to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
Inside Goal.Com
-
Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line
England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012
-
The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday
-
Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms
The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield
-
The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager
Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down
