Genk vs Chelsea preview - AVB determined to recover from `disastrous week'

Posted Tuesday, November 01, 2011 by PA

Andre Villas-Boas admits Chelsea have endured "a disastrous week" but insists he is still on course to produce a side capable of winning the Barclays Premier League.

The past eight days have seen Villas-Boas suffer what is arguably the biggest setback of his otherwise precocious managerial career, with back-to-back top-flight defeats sandwiching the John Terry racism inquiry, three red cards, and two - or possibly three - Football Association fines.

Saturday's 5-3 defeat to Arsenal - the first time Chelsea have conceded five goals in a home game for 22 years - raised questions about Villas-Boas' footballing philosophy and tactics.

The 34-year-old accepted he and his players needed to learn from their recent travails but was defiant about his Stamford Bridge project.

"There's always a learning curve in winning and in losing," he said ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Genk.

"I think you have to be frank and say that our progress was stopped in a disastrous week for us in terms of results. But you cannot say it's all gone to ruins. That's not true.

"There is, of course, back-to-back defeats in the Premier League, which take their toll in terms of the league table.

"But that doesn't mean that what's being built is wrong, that the philosophy is wrong, and that we're not on the right track.

"We are on the right track. What we are building is still right.

"We have been punished in the last week in terms of the results, but it's up to us to take on the challenge.

"We represent a massive club and we're not running away from the mistakes, but we have to move on."

Genk star Kevin De Bruyne insists his links with Chelsea will not stop him trying to pile on the misery for Villas-Boas' men at the Cristal Arena.

De Bruyne has another chance to convince the Blues to sign him in January after his latest audition fell flat in the Belgian side's 5-0 Group E thrashing at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago.

Chelsea have long been linked with the 20-year-old after scouting him on several occasions and he could hardly be going into Tuesday's game with more confidence having scored his first professional hat-trick in Genk's amazing comeback against Club Brugge on Saturday.

Mario Been's men were 4-2 down but ran out 5-4 victors, with De Bruyn netting both the equaliser and the winner.

And after Saturday's embarrassment by Arsenal, De Bruyne today vowed to give everything to inflict what would be an even greater humiliation on tomorrow's opponents.

"I will think about only doing my best for Genk," said De Bruyne.

"My `relationship' with Chelsea is not important.

"Nothing is signed yet, we will see."