Villas-Boas forced to explain selection

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas admits he was forced to explain his team selection against Napoli to owner Roman Abramovich.

The Portuguese tactician has been under intense pressure with Chelsea fifth in the English Premier League and it mounted after a 3-1 loss to Napoli in the Champions League round-of-16 first-leg.

Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Ashley Cole were left on the bench at Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday, and Villas-Boas said he had explained his selections to Abramovich.

“I have spoken to the people near to him (Abramovich). Of course he is disappointed with the result and has asked questions about how we set up the team, which were duly explained,” Villas-Boas said on Thursday.

“We shared out ideas on the events that happened in the game and how they happened but there’s still 90 minutes to play and we strongly believe we can turn the tie around.”

Chelsea are preparing for a Premier League clash against Bolton on Saturday, although they will be without captain John Terry.

Terry will miss five to six weeks after a knee operation, Villas-Boas confirmed, while Fernando Torres is likely to be available for selection despite missing training because of illness.

Villas-Boas, who described his relationship with Cole and Lampard as ‘very good’, again stood by his team selection for the Napoli encounter.

“I don’t have any regrets regarding team selection. The team that I choose is the best for the team and it’s the team that I feel is completely right,” he said.

“It’s the decision of the manager and Frank (Lampard) fully accepts it. Of course it’s difficult for him to take when he’s had the involvement he’s had in the Champions League games.”

“It’s a manager’s decision and as difficult as they are to take, it’s always for the benefit of the team.”