Chelsea players fully behind André Villas-Boas, says Daniel Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge insists André Villas-Boas has the full support of the Chelsea squad as the Blues gear up for their crunch Champions League clash with Valencia on Tuesday.

Chelsea sealed back-to-back Premier League wins with Saturday’s 3-0 success at Newcastle United, easing some of the pressure that had begun to mount on the 34-year-old coach after a string of disappointing results.

And Sturridge, who was in fine form at the Sports Direct Arena and netted Chelsea’s third goal, says the players are fully behind their young manager ahead of the European showdown at Stamford Bridge.

“It’s important for us to be behind the manager because he’s going to be here for the next three years. He’s stated that and I believe that also. I’m behind the manager and I think everyone else is too,” Sturridge told a news conference on Monday.

“The attacking style which he is trying to implement is working, and I think you’ll see that in the future.

“The team is playing with confidence. Everyone’s happy and everyone’s playing very well. We’ve always had the confidence, not just with ourselves but with the manager also, and we’re very happy.”

A win or a goalless draw against their Spanish opposition will be see Villas-Boas’s men through to the last 16 – and Sturridge believes Saturday’s victory can give them some much-needed momentum.

“I think we’ve always had confidence but I think we’ve just been unfortunate with the way we’ve conceded some goals,” he continued. “[The win at Newcastle] has given us a lot of confidence. We’ve played some good football against Wolves and Newcastle so it shows we’re capable of still being able to play the way we like to play.

“Everyone is going to be working hard to make sure we don’t concede tomorrow.”

And Sturridge insists he will not be frustrated if he does not score his first Champions League goal of the season on Tuesday – so long as his side secure a victory.

“I don’t really mind not scoring as long as the team wins,” he added. “From a collective point of view, I think it doesn’t matter who scores as long as we win the game – it doesn’t matter who gets on the score-sheet.

“The players we have in the squad are used to playing in big games. They’ve been playing in World Cups and Champions League finals, so I think playing in a game like this doesn’t really matter – we’ve always been prepared for this.”