Villas-Boas rejects ‘Special’ tag

IT was the question he knew he would be asked; and given Andre Villas-Boas’ reputation for meticulous preparation you suspect the answer had been practised many times in front of the mirror.

Chelsea’s new manager is well aware he bears all the hallmarks of his most famous predecessor: he’s Portuguese, has just arrived in London after winning a European trophy with Porto and has an air of confidence and a sense of comfort in the spotlight that seems eerily familiar. But is he a Special One?

“Listen, I will wait for you guys to give a title to me when I’m successful,” came the carefully-crafted reply that was typical of his debut press conference at Stamford Bridge yesterday. “I hope I am and you give me a good title in the end. But this is not a one-man show. This is a question of creating empathy, motivation and raising ambitions in everybody: the players, the staff around me — all the people in this organisation.