That’s according to Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas, who finds himself treading in the very footsteps that saw predecessor Carlo Ancelotti march towards unemployment last season.
The Blues’ recent results look remarkably similar to those which undermined Ancelotti’s position at the club 12 months back. Both managers have suffered a crushing defeat to Arsenal; a 1-1 draw at Tottenham; and the haphazard defending which resulted in shipping three goals at home to Aston Villa. Though Ancelotti’s side emerged from that New Year game against Villa with a draw, as opposed to Villas-Boas’ defeat.
Now, as last year, a Chelsea boss under immense pressure and scrutiny makes an early-January trip to Molineux for a game that really could be make or break.
Villas-Boas is certain he can lift his team.
“That’s the easy part,” he said. “It’s a game within 48 hours (of the last one) and we don’t have to wait for another opportunity to prove that we can put things back on the right track. Psychologically it’s a plus.”
Last season at Wolves, Ancelotti’s Chelsea lost 1-0 thanks to a Jose Bosingwa own goal – the very nadir of the Italian coach’s so-called ‘bad moment’. From then onwards, he was seen by many as a dead man walking – despite winning the FA Cup and Premier League double the previous season.
Meanwhile Villas-Boas, yet to prove himself at Chelsea, is already in the position of having to write-off trophies.
He said: “The December fixtures were always going to be difficult for everybody. They are proving difficult for all the top clubs and we haven’t made the most of the opportunities.
“If we had continued to be competent from what we did against Man City we would maybe be challenging for the League. You can say we might have lost it in December.”
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