Chelsea legend: Boss should never have tried to get rid of me Lampard and Cole

Didier Drogba says former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was the architect of his own downfall

After the Portuguese arrived at Stamford Bridge from Porto in 2011, rumours that a number of key figures were to be axed started circulating almost immediately.

Villas-Boas never got the chance to stamp his authority on the club and was axed after just seven months in west London following a difficult start to the season.

And Blues legend Drogba claims he was the architect of his own downfall because he refused to listen to the players amid talk that he was trying to oust of him, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.

 

"That’s his right, because the club needed to keep moving forwards, but he shouldn’t have kept those players at the club while he was trying to make his revolution," Drogba wrote in his new autobiography, commitment.

“Although we weren’t going around complaining, it had an impact on the rest of the squad if we weren’t happy.”

The unhappiness in the squad came to a head after a 2-1 home loss to Liverpool in November 2011.

 

Villas-Boas was sacked after just seven months in charge at Stamford Bridge

Villas-Boas held a meeting with a group of senior players that included Drogba after the game, where he was urged to reconsider his policy of rotating star players.

However, the ex-Ivory Coast international claims he never acted on the advice.

“It was as if the conversation (the day before) had never happened."

He continued: "You have to be able to listen [to experienced individuals] and communicate with them.

"Otherwise, if you manage a team like Chelsea, you’re heading for a fall.”