Chelsea still high on confidence, insists Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas is adamant that Chelsea’s recent poor run, both on and off the pitch, has not dented their confidence.

Chelsea face Blackburn Rovers away on Saturday and will be looking for all three points to close the gap on current Premier League leaders Manchester City, and hopefully put an end to what has been an unsettling fortnight.

The Blues are hoping to avoid a repeat of last year’s mid-season dip which proved costly as they gave up the title to Manchester United, but despite their recent lack of form on the pitch, and disciplinary issues off it with the John Terry race row, Villas-Boas insists the bad period will pass.

“When things don’t go our way, we can’t be happy with what’s passing,” he said.

“This week that has passed, and the results we have been getting, doesn’t hurt our confidence.”

“There’s a good spirit in the group. There’s a negative momentum we are passing by.”

“We want wins as soon as possible. We went past a bad period and bad momentum last year, and we want to avoid that again.”

“The memory of that is bad enough to want us not to repeat it.”

“But we’re not questioning our quality or our talent.”

The Chelsea boss has had to defend a number of his players in recent weeks, especially his men at the back after some lacklustre displays.

But Villas-Boas insists his players have his full support, adding: “Listen, I live with these players on a daily basis.”

“I’m fortunate enough to see what they can offer to me, and I make decisions on that.”

“You don’t see the commitment, how good they are.”

“You see them in competitive and strenuous situations, and it’s valid that people have their opinions. But we don’t believe them.”

“There is always room for improvement. There must be.”

“We are not satisfied with the way we are conceding goals, but we are looking to score more goals than our opponents.”

“Our defensive organisation is solid, is competent, and we have complete trust in it.”

Michael Essien was ruled out for six months after he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in training at the beginning of pre-season, but the Blues’ boss is hopeful of an early return.

“Essien is making good progress. We’re looking at the end of December, I think,” he said.