Andre Villas-Boas: The ’emptiness’ wasn’t merely related to Chelsea axe

Andre Villas-Boas insists the “emptiness” he felt before taking charge of Tottenham was not solely related to his Chelsea axe.

The 35-year-old, who was formerly a member of Jose Mourinho’s coaching staff, was given the chop at Stamford Bridge after less than nine months in charge of the west London side.

Villas-Boas, who led Porto to the quadruple in 2011, spent almost four months out of football before Spurs chairman Daniel Levy appointed the Portuguese as Harry Redknapp’s successor.

Last week, the Spurs boss revealed he felt an “emptiness” following his Chelsea dismissal, but Villas-Boas clarified the emotion arose from being away from his profession and not specifically his Blues failure.

“The emptiness is not merely related to Chelsea,” said Villas-Boas ahead of Tottenham’s clash with the Blues at White Hart Lane on Saturday.

“It’s related completely to the game and the adrenalin that it gives you.

“The interview was quite clear, although I’m not the greatest at explaining myself.

“You come away from your job and a 24-hour relationship with your job, your profession and football. It gives you so much adrenalin and motivation.

“After that Chelsea experience, it was a time for me to reflect and try to sort things with my staff that we have done wrong but can do better in the future.

“We have learned so many lessons that we have applied in this job right now.”