Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas insists he has nothing to prove when he comes up against his mentor Jose Mourinho for the first time on Saturday.
Portuguese coach Villas-Boas learnt his trade under Mourinho as a member of his compatriot’s coaching staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan. The pair fell out when Villas-Boas decided to go it alone as a manager, but the Spurs chief is adamant he has no thoughts of vengeance ahead of Chelsea boss Mourinho’s visit to White Hart Lane this weekend.
Tottenham will kick off in second place in the Premier League table with 12 points from five games -- two more than Chelsea, who have also suffered defeat at home to Basle in the Champions League.
That reverse, coupled with a domestic defeat at Everton, has increased the pressure on Mourinho, who won the Premier League in his first two seasons in his first spell at Chelsea.
But Villas-Boas, who had a short-lived spell as manager at Stamford Bridge that ended with the sack in March 2012, believes both he and his old boss have proved their worth. ‘Nobody has anything to prove,’ Villas-Boas said. ‘Jose’s career speaks for itself. I am very proud of what I have done so far and what I have achieved.
‘This Chelsea team are still being built around Jose’s ideas. The team have changed dramatically since he has left. ‘Some of the players are still the same but they have so many creative players now, so much technical flair. ‘They are still building together as a team. With Jose’s abilities, he will be able to fine-tune the team to another winning team because he’s done that throughout his career.’
Villas-Boas explained the reasons behind the end of his relationship with Mourinho, which came in 2009 when the latter refused to promote him. ‘Our break-up point was because I was full of ambition to give him something extra and wanted further involvement to the job that I was doing at that time, which was scouting and match preparation,’ he said.
‘I felt I could give him much more. He didn’t feel the need for somebody near to him or as an assistant. Because of that, we decided it was time, after Inter Milan, to continue our careers.’ Meanwhile, champions Manchester United face West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. Striker Robin van Persie, who was so sorely missed in last weekend’s 4-1 defeat by Manchester City, has recovered from a groin strain and is available for selection, manager David Moyes said on Friday.
The Dutchman could feature in Saturday’s Premier League match but the even better news for the English champions is his return in time for Wednesday’s tricky trip to Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. ‘Robin will be back involved somewhere,’ Moyes told a news conference. ‘Whether we use him, whether we don’t, he’s trained today, so he’s match fit but we’ll see exactly where he is.’