Andre Villas-Boas: Roman Abramovich's still backing me even if players aren't

Villas-Boas is under huge pressure for his job after overseeing the worst results of any manager in the Abramovich era.

Standard Sport revealed yesterday that a section of senior players have lost faith with his methods and want former boss Guus Hiddink to return.

Villas-Boas met with the squad on Sunday after a woeful 2-0 defeat at Everton had dropped them to fifth in the Premier League and extended their run to two wins from their previous 10 games.

But the 34-year-old is adamant he has nothing to fear and said: "They [the players] don't have to back my project, the owner has to back my project. That is normal.

"I think the owner has full trust in me and we will continue to progress with the ideas that we have.

"Last Sunday there was basically a meeting of technical staff and players, nothing dramatic. I think everybody understands that we need more.

"The run of results hasn't been impressive, so responsibility must be shared with players and management and that's exactly how it went.

"If you are able to gain strength from these situations, maybe you could go on to a run of good results.

"We have, I think, a good run of games to show our qualities. We need actions more than anything."

Asked if he felt under any more threat than a week ago, he added: "I don't think so. But it's a question that you will have to ask the owner."

Abramovich was at the training ground five out of
six days last week and also went into the dressing room after Chelsea threw away a three-goal lead against Manchester United earlier this month.

Villas-Boas is adamant he has no problem with the owner making his presence known and said: "I think the owner is entitled to do whatever he wants. Am I happy to have him in dressing room? Yeah, I think so."

Chelsea have huge games against Birmingham in the FA Cup fifth round on Saturday and Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday.

"In the end, we are fighting for those two trophies and getting us the best position possible in the Premier League," he said.

John Terry is still struggling with a knee injury and Villas-Boas confirmed his captain is not fit enough to play in both matches.

It means he is bound to be rested for the Birmingham clash, while left-back Ashley Cole (calf) is rated as only 50-50 to face the Italian side.

Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou will be available to face Napoli after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations and midfielder Ramires is fit to face Birmingham after a knee injury.