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Chelsea boss defiant over striker pairing
AVB won't panic over frontline
Chelsea boss defiant over striker pairing | Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has dismissed suggestions that the club will part ways with either Didier Drogba or Fernando Torres in the near future, insisting that both will have roles to play at Stamford Bridge.
Torres has struggled for goals since his £50 million move from Liverpool a year ago and his goal return has not been improving while Drogba has been on international duty with Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.
Following last night’s 1-1 draw with Swansea, the Spaniard has recorded 1,074 minutes without netting for the Blues.
Earlier this campaign, the player’s confidence hit rock-bottom as he was benched to accommodate in-form Drogba in the starting line-up.
Many urged Chelsea to offload Drogba so that Torres can remain in the side consistently but AVB is content with the current system, staying confident that the two strikers can coexist.
“The two players are competing for the striking position and we all know the significance of Didier to this team and his record,” Villas-Boas told The Sun.
The manager added: “We will have to see how tired he (Drogba) is when he comes back to us but no one can doubt his ambition to win trophies for us this season.
“With Torres, the situation does not change. We still believe in the player but he is taking his time.”
Torres has only scored three times in 32 Premier League appearances for Chelsea but that is not the primary concern for goalkeeper Petr Cech, who simply wants to win against Manchester United on Sunday to maintain a challenge for the third place.
“We don’t even have to mention the word ‘title’ because the Manchester clubs will not drop many points – that’s the reality,” the 29-year-old wrote on his official website as he alluded to Chelsea 12-point deficit to the league summit.
He added: “I still think it is realistic to target the third sport, though. For that we will need to succeed in Sunday’s tough match [at home to United].”
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