Villas-Boas felt unloved by Mourinho
AHEAD of tomorrow’s reunion with former mentor Jose Mourinho, Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has revealed their bitter split after seven years of working together was down to being unappreciated.
Villas-Boas was part of Mourinho’s backroom staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan but the pair went their separate ways in 2009 with the elder man seemingly unwilling to upgrade the now Spurs manager’s role as a scout.
And when they stand side by side on the touchline once again tomorrow, when Spurs entertain Chelsea at White Hart Lane, Villas-Boas says he will do it knowing he made the right decision to go it alone.
“I don’t think there’s anything to prove,” he said.
“Jose’s career speaks for itself and I’m very proud of what I’ve done so far and what I’ve achieved.
“I was never his No2. I was part of his staff, but I was never his assistant.
“That’s one of the reasons we went our separate ways. I thought I could give him a lot more, but he didn’t feel the need to have someone next to him. So I decided to give myself freedom and think about my career, which wasn’t difficult.
“There is always an influence because, when you’ve worked together for seven years you learn methods that not only brought Jose success but you want to get to know those methods and apply them too.
“There are probably lots of things I do similarly to him.”