Andre Villas-Boas: I don’t need support of players

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has claimed
he does not need his players’ backing to assert
his authority at Stamford Bridge, and thus has
no fears over his job security.
“They don’t have to back my project, only the
owner needs to back my project,” the former
Porto man told reporters. “I think the owner has
full trust in me and will continue to progress
with the ideas that we have.”
The Portuguese boss also responded to reports
that players had spoken out directly against him
in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at
Everton.
While the rumors were quashed immediately as
hyperbole, the 34-year-old did state sternly that
unruly players would not undermine his
authority.
“There was a meeting of technical staff and
players, nothing dramatic. Everybody
understands we need more [than we are giving] and responsibility for this must be shared
between the players and management,” he said.
“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.”
Hoping to move on from the alleged bust-up,
Villas-Boas affirmed the importance of
progression in Saturday’s FA Cup clash against
in-form Championship side Birmingham City.
“It will be extremely good for us if we win
against Birmingham to put ourselves in the
quarterfinals of the FA Cup,” he said. “But we
need strong progression in the league and to
show our strength, so we efficate a little bit more
our contention for fourth place – as third is
already 10 points ahead of us – so that we get
Champions League qualification.”