Torres retains AVB backing

Andre Villas-Boas has insisted he was being positive when he spoke about Fernando Torres in a forthright radio interview this week.

Villas-Boas keen to help Spaniard meet expectations

Andre Villas-Boas has insisted he was being positive when he spoke about Fernando Torres in a forthright radio interview this week. As well as admitting that he had doubts about his long-term future at Chelsea when he spoke to Portuguese station TSF, the manager offered his thoughts on a number of other topics including Manchester City and Torres. He compared the £50million man to Andriy Shevchenko and Mateja Kezman, both of whom were expensive flops at Stamford Bridge while Villas-Boas worked under Jose Mourinho. Joking that the only person at the club upset by his interview was their head of communications because he "had to work a little bit more", Villas-Boas added: "The whole words on Fernando were positive. "I used them in the sense of the demands put on strikers at this football club, and those two (Shevchenko and Kezman) didn't perform in terms of the expectation of the fans and the club. "We want to avoid this situation happening again." Asked if he was certain Torres would not end up like other Chelsea misfits, Villas-Boas said: "I'll do everything in my power to make sure he doesn't."

City praise

Villas-Boas also denied having aimed a dig at the brand of football played by league leaders Manchester City. "City have 17 points more than us and are first, so I cannot criticise their style," he said. "They have incredible numbers, won all their home games with 40 goals scored and six conceded. I cannot criticise this. "But I think it's a very Italian style. My style is holding the initiative, and I don't speculate with the game. "Roberto has brought immediate success to City and has bought his own time with his qualities, by winning the FA Cup last year and building a super-team this year that is leading the Premier League. "But they had high expectations in other competitions from which they are already out."