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AVB: Too much pressure too soon

Comment: 0 February 15th, 2012 by: admin

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas claimed that there is too much pressure placed on him to produce immediate success for the squad.

Only in his first year at Stamford Bridge, the 34 year old has been repeatedly visited by Blues owner Roman Abramovich, who has been monitoring the team’s training and tactics. The Russian is supervising the squad’s performance to ensure qualification for the Champions League next season.

The Blues lost footing and dropped one place in the EPL to land in the 5th spot due to a surprise 0-2 defeat to Everton.  This came not long after Abramovich told AVB that he refused to consider placing 4th satisfactory.

Villas-Boas insisted that the lack of patience and tolerance is the problem in modern society.

In a magazine interview, the manager shared his insight on the problems the club is facing this season. He claimed that he is too young to be a dictator and bully his players around, but is aware that frustration is part of managing a club that wants success.

He added that philosophies of managers shouldn’t only be shared but sold to each member of the squad.

However, the Portuguese feels that the need for instant gratification upon appointment is too much.

Since 2003, Abramovich has sacked all managers that have failed to win a trophy in a season. Since having Jose Mourinho as manager, there have been five managerial changes until Villas-Boas. He has also been known to let them go even before the season ends.

“You are expected to succeed instantly, circumstances are not taken into account,” AVB said.

“Tolerance and patience are less obvious – maybe social frustrations play a part in this.

“There is too much pressure to succeed. At the moment, the game is becoming obsessed by speed, reflecting a society in which everything is done in a hurry.

“In England, football is fuelled by the people’s emotions. The fans want you to be quick, accelerate the action. Possession and patience are not appreciated as much.

“It is a cultural thing.

“When you become a manager, you have to produce results immediately, to get the players to perform the right way.”

He also addressed the controversial bust-up between him and his players in front of Abramovich after AVB cancelled a day off to call for a team meeting.

“Normally, my team meetings last around 20 minutes, including videos,” he said. “We address our team in relation to the opponents, in and out of possession, the opponents’ qualities and finally have a short video on our set plays.

“In midweek, I occasionally get the players together to discuss what we are doing well and not doing so well. I try as much as possible to incorporate this feedback in training sessions to avoid putting players in meeting rooms too often.”

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