POINT TO PROVE ... Andre Villas-Boas
Published:
14th
July 2012
ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS feels that he has arrived at Tottenham a changed man.
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And after taking training at his new club for the first time last week, their Portuguese chief is confident he has the support of everyone at White Hart Lane.
Villas-Boas, axed in March just 259 days into the job at Stamford Bridge, said: “I have thought about what happened at Chelsea.
“You learn by trying, you learn by experience... . and you learn by mistakes.
“I arrive at this club much more prepared and a much better manager than I was before.
“I have to admit to mistakes, which I can put right.
“Now what I want is to compete in the Premier League and put together a squad of players that enables us to win.”
Villas-Boas accepts one of his biggest errors was not understanding English football fans are happy to hear praise for individuals rather than just the team.
He explained: “I learned at Chelsea there is a tolerance in England towards individual praise. It’s common.
“But what I did, and not just with Frank Lampard, was always to have a sense of protection for the team.
“Because of the way I was educated at Porto, I believe the club is always more important than any individual.
“And so while I was never able to criticise any of my players publicly, I was also never able to praise any of my players publicly.”
AVB takes over a squad that finished fourth under Harry Redknapp last season but agonisingly missed out on a Champions League place because of the Blues’ historic final win over Bayern Munich.
Now he is determined to cement Spurs’ place in the top four and mount a realistic bid for the title.
He added: “Harry Redknapp made it public last year that Tottenham could go on to win the title. That’s what we must accept if we want to move forward.
“The chairman wants continuous success. That can only happen when you put titles in your cabinet. Hopefully, we can do exactly that.”
AVB believes he has the full confidence of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, in stark contrast to the relationship he endured with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
He said: “Since meeting the chairman here, I like the way he goes about his business at the football club. I think that he is a person who knows what he is doing.
“It was never in my mind that I was in a hurry to get back into football.
“I took my time because I wanted to reflect on what I had done. Hopefully, it has made me a better coach and person.
“There is more a sense of belonging to a club at Tottenham. It was important to come to a club with a knowledgeable chairman, who is involved on a daily basis.
“That is the main difference from before.
“The structure around Tottenham is extremely good. There are competent and trustworthy people in and around the football club, which is driven towards success.
“They are not looking for certain scapegoats. And when so many people are striving forward, then it makes your job easier.”
Villas-Boas maintains moving to Tottenham is not about getting revenge on Chelsea but getting Spurs to take those final steps to glory.
He insisted: “This job is not about myself, it is about the club. All of us are very, very emotional and we respond in different ways to sentiments of ambition and revenge.
“But it would be a wrong step to take it that way. This football club is much more important than me.
“What I must do is try to take them to success and not worry about personal issues.”
AVB accepts there will be pressure on him to realise Tottenham’s aspirations, yet he is adamant that does not worry him.
He agreed: “There are responsibilities that come with this job. You don’t expect us to be 10th or ninth or whatever. We have to be in a comfortable position.
“When we are so ambitious, there are responsibilities you have to take on.
“I will be the first to admit failure, if that is the case.”
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