LONDON: Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas believes the painful lessons of his dismal spell in charge at Chelsea will help him succeed at White Hart Lane.
Villas-Boas was the surprise choice to replace Harry Redknapp at Spurs following a turbulent period with Chelsea that ended with the Portuguese coach sacked after just eight months.
At the time of Villas-Boas’s dismissal, Chelsea were a club in crisis following reports of rifts between the manager and a host of senior players including Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Nicolas Anelka.
But the Blues improved to such an extent after his exit that they were able to win the Champions League and FA Cup.
The 34-year-old acknowledges he made mistakes during his time at Stamford Bridge and he is determined to avoid falling into the same trap on his return to London with Spurs.
“You always learn from experience,” Villas-Boas told a TV channel. “The Chelsea experience was maybe not so gratifying in terms of success but very gratifying professionally for me.”
Despite winning four trophies in his only full season in charge of Porto, Villas-Boas still has plenty to prove after such a damaging spell at Chelsea.
“It is not a mission of restoring my reputation, it’s a mission to put Tottenham back on track with titles.” he said.
Villas-Boas, who was linked with the Liverpool and Roma jobs, revealed he had held talks with other clubs, but he opted for Spurs after deciding the structure at White Hart Lane would suit him best.
Villas-Boas also admitted Spurs would consider selling Real Madrid and Manchester United target Luka Modric if they get a big enough bid for the Croatia midfielder. Spurs was offered around £30 million last year by Chelsea for the player, but turned that down. (AFP)