Andre Villas-Boas uncovers the issues at Chelsea and his mistakes which left Abramovich to sack him 

Beginning his short-lived tenure as Chelsea manager, Andre Villas-Boas revealed several issues that led to his sacking.

The Portuguese coach was headhunted by Chelsea in the summer of 2011, after leading Porto to a treble the previous season.

This included a Europa League triumph, with the then 33-year-old becoming the youngest manager to ever win a European competition, during which time he was seen as one of the most promising young coaches in the world.

Former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich paid £13.3million to Porto to secure Villas-Boas services

Chelsea paid a whopping £13.3 million to secure his services. Villas-Boas returned to the club where he previously spent time as a scout while Jose Mourinho sat in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

He struggled with the Blues, however, as he failed to attract performances from a star-studded but aging squad.

He was sacked in March 2012, after a dire 1-0 defeat to West Brom that left Chelsea in fifth place and clinging to their hopes of a Champions League place next season.

However, after the departure of Villas-Boas, Chelsea remarkably won the Champions League, beating Bayern Munich in the final on penalties led by manager Roberto Di Matteo.

And looking back at the end of his tenure, more than 10 years later, Villas-Boas admitted he made mistakes at Stamford Bridge.

The Portuguese coach had a hard time at Stamford Bridge and was sacked after eight months

“Chelsea was something that happens to a lot of people who have been there,” Villas-Boas said The Telegraph. “Sometimes you’re lucky, you win a trophy and at least leave a mark. I wasn’t so lucky.

“We thought we wouldn’t need as many changes as we predicted when we planned to start, okay? So that was a management error.’

However, the Portuguese coach pointed to issues beyond his control that led to his struggles, including failed transfer activities at the club.

He said: “Of course we missed the (Luka) Modric deal at the start of the season.

Villas-Boas claimed Chelsea signings such as Luka Modric and Joao Moutinho . missed

He also revealed that the club in West London is close to Radamel Falcao and Carlos Tevez. had signed

“If the Modric deal couldn’t be closed, then the (Joao) Moutinho deal had to be closed. That was Roman’s promise at the time.

“Moutinho came to the Premier League years and years after I tried, both Chelsea and Tottenham and everyone has seen the player he is. So that denial of his was a failure you can’t blame a coach for.

“I thought we closed the deal with Modric and he ended up at Real Madrid the following season. Then the Moutinho deal had to be made with Porto, but the problem was that the deal (for Chelsea) for Porto left-back, Alvaro Pereira, fell through.

Roman felt bad. So no Modric, no Moutinho… (Radamel) Falcao was another one about to come in, but then you had (Didier) Drogba who couldn’t decide whether to leave in January or not.

“He was about to go to Shanghai, then he’s not there anymore and then Marina (Granovskaia, former Chelsea director) wanted Carlos Tevez and suddenly she doesn’t want Tevez anymore.”

Villas-Boas opened his relationship with former Chelsea director Marina Granovskai (R) – pictured with Eden Hazard (L)

However, Villas-Boas refused to criticize the hierarchy at Chelsea that oversaw so much success.

He said, ‘So, you know, management and mismanagement that are typical of that organization.

“But Marina went on to become one of the greatest CEOs of the time (at Chelsea). I am nothing compared to what she has achieved.

“Listen, this time was sensitive because Roman was in the middle of… a case he had against his partner (Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky), so he was usually unavailable.

Villas-Boas has since managed clubs such as Tottenham, Zenit and Marseille

“There are many things in that season that deserve one of those shocking England autobiographies that go number one in WH Smith!”

Villas-Boas has since been the manager of Tottenham, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shanghai SIPG and Marseille.

Despite the miserable end to his tenure at Chelsea, with Villas-Boas leaving Stamford Bridge with the worst win rate of any manager during Roman Abramovich’s ownership of the club, he is determined as he reflects on his spell in West London.

He said: ‘I have no problem talking about my failures. People (say) to me: “Oh, he was a stupid kid who went into management and things didn’t go well at Chelsea because he was too stubborn, too blah, blah, blah and then the breakaway clause and he got his £10million , are £15 million”.

“There are so many lies that are present in this game that people want to associate with me… I am curious and I research and I stay in detail and I read and prepare.

“But sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t. How many coaches have been fired by Chelsea?’