• Premier League

Ancelotti tells Chelsea to stick with Villas-Boas

ESPN staff
February 29, 2012
Carlo Ancelotti waved goodbye to Chelsea in the summer of 2011 © PA Photos
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Paris Saint Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti has called on his former paymasters at Chelsea to stick with his successor Andre Villas-Boas.

Ancelotti, like a host of managers before him, was axed by Blues owner Roman Abramovich following a season where they fell below the Russian's expectations.

Villas-Boas was brought in from Porto at huge cost, claiming he had a long-term vision to bring sustained success to Chelsea.

His first season at the helm has been far from smooth, with the Premier League title out of reach and their Champions League hopes hanging in the balance ahead of the second leg of their clash with Napoli.

The pressure is mounting on Villas-Boas, with talk of the sack currently rife, but Abramovich has been told to take his finger off the trigger.

"I think that the problem at Chelsea was that they tried to change something, to have a younger team, to give more opportunity to the younger players, to play, to try to give less matches to the most important players - Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, John Terry," Ancelotti told CNN.

"But I think that this change needed time because it is very difficult to substitute players like Lampard, like Ashley Cole, like John Terry, because they are I think again the players in Chelsea.

"Villas-Boas is a good coach, because he did a very good job at Porto. It's the philosophy of the club. They tried to change something. This change needed time."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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