Ex-Chelsea gaffer Andre Villas-Boas slams club owner for firing Mourinho

Former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is baffled by the Blues' inability to retain trust in a manager, calling Jose Mourinho's firing "incredible."

Villas-Boas, currently the manager of Russian outfit Zenit St. Petersburg, is long removed from the London side, but as he peers in as an outside observer, he sees a bit of a trend at Stamford Bridge.

"Abramovich has sacked basically every coach that he's had," Villas-Boas told BeIN Sports, as quoted by Sky Sports. "It's been quite incredible to see that it was applied to everybody. It was applied to probably their dearest coach, their most successful coach, so in the end we have seen nothing different. Roman has sacked basically every coach that he has had."

The former Spurs and Porto boss can't help but draw parallels not just to Chelsea's former coaches but to his own spell at Stamford Bridge. He took over at Chelsea in 2011, but was sacked just a year later.

Whether it's caretaker managers like Roberto Di Matteo or high-profile gaffers like Carlo Ancelotti, though, the Portuguese tactician believes Chelsea treats them equally across the board.

"It's no different. It happened even to the best," Villas-Boas explained. "The same criteria that he has applied to me, for Rafa Benitez, for all the other coaches, Ancelotti, he has applied to Jose as well."

Villas-Boas hopes to show Abramovich the error of his ways as Zenit prepares to take on Benfica in the Champions League round of 16. Defeating Benfica could open the door for a revenge round of eight tie against the Blues.