André Villas-Boas insisted he deserves more respect as he railed against what he believes is a sinister agenda to undermine him. The Tottenham Hotspur manager could feel pleased and not a little relieved after a positive performance from his team in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United at White Hart Lane which followed the 6-0 thrashing by Manchester City.
Villas-Boas talked about how his team had reached the League Cup quarter-finals and the last 32 of the Europa League while their Premier League position was “not decisive yet”. He strongly believes that “at the moment, there should be some respect”, and it has not been forthcoming.
“No, I don’t think [it has],” he said. “A couple of people insult my integrity, my human values, my professionalism . . . insult the success that I have achieved in other clubs and I don’t think it’s fair. I think it’s a lack of respect and an attack on a person’s integrity.”
Villas-Boas said he did not want to undermine his fellow Premier League managers but he questioned why his Manchester United and City counterparts, David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini, had not endured criticism like that which came his way last week. “You can easily compare situations,” Villas-Boas said. “We have sat above Man City before and above Man United before and we haven’t seen any kind of these personal attacks to somebody, so I think that is unfair. It’s something that obviously comes with the 6-0 thrashing but more important is the team and the response, and I think the players did that in great, great fashion.”
United manager David Moyes accepted that he needed more in a creative sense from his central midfielders Tom Cleverley and Phil Jones, and he could not be happy to see United lagging nine points behind the leaders, Arsenal.
"We are concerned that we are not as close as we would like to be," Moyes said. "But it is a long season. We still have got room to progress and get better. That is undoubted. There are a lot of games in the next eight weeks and we hope to be in the mix at end of that period."
Jol sacked
Meanwhile, five months after buying Fulham, Shahid Khan has sacked his first Premier League manager, relieving Martin Jol of his duties 24 hours after a dismal performance in Saturday's 3-0 defeat at West Ham.
Jol will be replaced by the head coach René Meulensteen, who “will run first -team duties”, according to a club statement.
For all the slightly nebulous wording the implication is that this is a permanent managerial appointment, the Dutchman’s first in English football, although it is understood Meulensteen is seeking clarification over the terms of his contract. His first match in charge will be Wednesday’s against Tottenham at Craven Cottage.
Guardian Service
