LMA Chief: Villas-Boas Saddened, Frustrated By Sacking

League Managers' Association chief Richard Bevan has claimed that Chelsea should be 'embarrassed' over the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, with the young manager the eighth to be shown the exit door by Roman Abramovich.

When Villas-Boas was hired last summer to take over from Carlo Ancelotti, the 34 year old was seen as the man who could take on the tough job of rebuilding the Blues' side, as the squad's average age continued to increase.

But as Chelsea look likely to exit the Champions League last 16, and sit outside the top four in the Premier League table, Abramovich has run out of his particularly short amount of patience and sacked Villas-Boas after a lacklustre 1-0 loss to West Brom.

But Bevan believes that the blame for Chelsea's problems should rest with the owner, rather than Villas-Boas, with his continual changing of managers the reason why the club has failed to have success on the European stage.

"What is for sure is that, despite unlimited wealth, they haven't worked out how to build a successful football club," Bevan told BBC radio 5 live.

"Looking for his [owner Roman Abramovich's] eighth manager in nine years is a serious embarrassment.

"If a club has frequent managerial changes, you will have that sort of situation," he continued.

"When you take over a football club, you must ensure there are clear agreed objectives and goals right from the start. You must make sure that you manage expectations from the players, everyone at the club, the fans and even the media.

"Players need to know the manager's strategy and job is not in question and there is a clear remit. You get success if you have time and stability comes from that, otherwise it's very difficult for a manager like Andre to impose his philosophy and build a team."

Villas-Boas went through just two transfer windows with the club, and while he brought in successful players such as Juan Mata and gave Daniel Sturridge a chance to shine for the club, he also failed to get the best out of Fernando Torres and David Luiz.

The task for Villas-Boas was always going to be a difficult one, and his hiring in the first place raised many eyebrows, particularly because he had never managed in a Champions League match, or had to deal with the egos that seem all the more powerful in the Chelsea dressing room.

Bevan said that he had spoken to Villas-Boas about the situation, and he hoped Roberto Di Matteo could do well for the club in the season run-in.

"He was very disappointed, frustrated, saddened but his thoughts were with the club, the fans, and indeed, Roberto Di Matteo," he revealed.

"He wished him well for the rest of the season."

Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez are now touted as favourites to take over the role in the summer, if Di Matteo is unable to prove himself in the interim.