http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 boss Andre Villas-Boas has insisted his decision to leave Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard out of the squad was purely for footballing reasons as the Blues stumbled to yet another defeat.
Reports reveal the http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League clash. Their absence from the starting XI only fuelled rumours of a growing rift between the senior players and the young manager.
While the Portuguese manager admitted he was aware of the fact that the duo did not necessarily agree with his decision, he knew he could not earn everyone’s approval. According to Villas-Boas he was not too concerned with the gossip that was sure to follow the incident.
Villas-Boas said while speaking to reporters:
“I think there's a normal creation of opinion from different parties, from the media and the fans, and from exactly the people who matter in the business - the owner and the manager.
Whatever perspective comes out, that really doesn't matter to me.”
Villas-Boas revealed he had spoken to Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard about their exclusion from the squad and both the players had voiced their displeasure. They believed that they could have helped make a difference, but at the end of the day Villas-Boas felt they had to accept the manager’s decision and move on.
He revealed:
“The players that they are and the players with the experience they have, they felt they could have helped the team. That's perfectly understandable.
Of course, they were disappointed but they were decisions they have to accept and move on.”
The 34-year-old former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Porto-c39186 manager revealed he was not too big on making excuses and giving explanations for something that did not matter anymore. He said he had left out Lampard due to tactical reasons and Cole because the left-back had not been fully fit.
Villas-Boas continued:
”Whatever explanation I give you, in the end it would be a fantastic explanation if we'd won the game.
Any explanation is now useless given the result of the game, so there's no point.”
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