Andre Villas-Boas vows to learn from ‘radical’ Chelsea spell at Marseille
Wednesday 29 May 2019 13:06, UK
Andre Villas-Boas has pledged to learn from his “radical” experiences at Chelsea as he bids to take Marseille back to the big time.
The Portuguese was announced as Rudi Garcia's successor at the Stade Velodrome on Tuesday, and has been tasked with reinvigorating a team who have fallen behind traditional rivals Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon in Ligue 1.
However, there will not be sweeping changes under Villas-Boas, who admits he tried to change too much in an ill-fated spell at Stamford Bridge which saw him sacked after less than nine months.
"At Chelsea, I was very radical with my philosophy, but I think with experience you have to respect French football culture and focus on technical excellence and creativity," he told the club's official website.
"I want to construct the ideal philosophy for OM. I am not a defensive coach, I want to play attacking football - like the slogan of OM, "Droit au but" [Straight to goal].
Marseille finished this season in fifth place, 30 points behind Thomas Tuchel's runaway champions and 11 outside the three Champions League places, and Villas-Boas, who also spent a season-and-a-half at Tottenham, has signed a two-year contract with the club.
"I am very happy to be here. Joining a club as big as OM is fantastic for me," he said. "The objectives are clear. We have a very strong desire and will to do absolutely everything to finish in the top three.
"The team is good. The group needs changes, but not too many. There are players, notably, who are coming out of contract. We must analyse all of that, considering Financial Fair Play, and put together the best team possible to achieve the supporters' dreams.
"The directors control that situation more than me. We need to take the time to analyse and see what we can do, or not, with the budget we have."
