Villas-Boas concedes pressure is mounting

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom - Andre Villas-Boas admits he is under increasing pressure following Chelsea's 1-0 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, but the beleaguered boss remains determined to save his job.

Gareth McAuley's late goal condemned Chelsea to a shock loss at The Hawthorns on Saturday to leave Villas-Boas' Blues future hanging by a slender thread.

The west London club has won just one of its past seven matches and only three from its past 12 in the Premier League - leaving it three points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal in the race for the final Champions League spot.

Rumors are already circulating that former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is being lined up to replace Villas-Boas and the ex-Porto chief conceded his future at Stamford Bridge was far from certain.

"Will this result increase pressure on me? You have to agree with it," Villas-Boas said.

"We are in the same position, fifth, but we are now three points behind Arsenal. It is a big, big disappointment. Every defeat Chelsea suffers piles more pressure on any manager.

"Today is acceptable that pressure piles on a bit more. We have responsibilities to the fans and the club and we did not perform."

A Norwich City fan shouts at Chelsea's manager Andre Villas-Boas during their English Premier League soccer match at Carrow Road in Norwich, eastern England, in a Jan 21, 2012 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has failed to come out and publicly give his backing to Villas-Boas, sparking speculation the Portuguese could be the latest Blues manager to be sacked.

But Villas-Boas isn't worried about the lack of support and he said: "It is not normal for the owner to come and back us when things go like this.

"At the moment we just have to get on with our job and everyone must do better, players and manager for sure on that one.

"We have to improve and there is no need for the owner to back us after such a poor display."

Villas-Boas insists he remains the man to lead Chelsea forward, saying: "If I didn't believe that I wasn't, then I would not have come."

But he was less than impressed with the display of his players, conceding the best side won at The Hawthorns.

"Full credit to West Brom for playing a magnificent game. We just weren't good enough on the day," he said.

"They won every first ball, every second ball. They were far superior than us. It was a big, big disappointment.

"Everybody must do better - players, staff and manager, fo/r sure."

Baggies head coach Roy Hodgson was thrilled with his team's display as it recorded a third successive victory and moved up to ninth position.

"We did play very well. As a team, we can feel very proud of our performance. In my opinion, it wasn't a poor performance from Chelsea, it was a good one from us," he said.

Hodgson, who endured similar pressure at Liverpool last season, believes Villas-Boas deserves time to turn things around.

"I sympathize and empathize with Andre but the day we coaches, who realize football has two sides to its coin, don't stand up for each other will be a sad day for football," he said.

"He doesn't need advice. He is a very successful manager. I saw the Porto side play the other night at Manchester City and that is the team he put together.

"He has come to Chelsea with high expectations and it has not started as well as he would have liked.

"But it is early days. To build a team takes time and there are no magic wands.

"If he is going to be successful, he will need time to stamp his authority on the team and given time, he will be able to do that."

Agence France-Presse