Managing Spurs a ´privilege´, says Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas is grateful for having been handed the manager’s job at Tottenham so soon after receiving the sack from Chelsea.

The 35-year-old suffered a torturous tenure at Stamford Bridge which came to an end prematurely after he failed to get the Chelsea players to follow his leadership.

When asked about his highlight of 2012, he said: “I had a great time in the Maldives when I was out of a job!”

But now the former Porto coach insists he is more settled at White Hart Lane, after a tough start, and is confident of success going into the new year.

“Obviously, when I departed from Chelsea it was a difficult time for me. The reasons have been explained lots of times, I don’t have to go through them again,” he said.

“A possibility to come back to the Premier League was important to me, to stay at this level in a club with a wonderful tradition.

“I’m really happy to be here and to be given this opportunity to take it forward with success to 2013.

“For me it is a privilege to be involved in this league. It is an opportunity to be among the best in the best league in the world.

“And I am looking forward to the run-in. You don’t sign a contract just to run a team for six months.

“We are within our objectives. We have qualified for the Europa League knockout stages and we are able to keep this level of form up in the rest of the Premier League.

“And if we do, we can finish fourth.”

Spurs take on Stoke at home on Saturday and Villas-Boas took the opportunity to praise Tony Pulis’ work at the Britannia Stadium.

“The physical presence and pressure in our faces is what marks Stoke’s defensive organisation and a great, great side,” he said.

“They have been having an amazing year among the best defences in Europe so it will certainly be a very hard game.”