After Tottenham Hotspur drew 2-2 with Manchester United at White Hart Lane on Sunday, Andre Villas-Boas sat down to do his press conference after the game to share his thoughts, however it ended with him having a war-of-words with a Daily Mail news reporter.
Below you can see the full transcript from that heated press conference.
*Ashton is the Daily Mail news reporter*
Question from another journalist: Your point is that you’re under pressure so why is the United manager not under pressure?
Villas-Boas: Well I think… I don’t want to undermine other managers. You can easily compare situations. We have sat above Man City before and above Man United before and we haven’t seen any kind of these personal attacks to somebody, and they are in this room, so I think that is unfair.
It’s something that obviously comes with the 6-0 thrashing but more important is the team and the response and I think the players did that in great, great fashion.
Ashton: What was personal about it, Andre?
Villas-Boas: You can easily understand. I don’t need to explain. I think you have always chased people, you attack people. You don’t attack them by the front, you attack them sitting when you write. You attack integrity, you attack competence, you attack the integrity of the person, their human values and you don’t even know that person. We never got a chance to sit down and speak about it.
Ashton: I’m happy to speak about it.
Villas-Boas: Only when I give you that chance, when I know you and you know me are you able to reach conclusions like the one you did. I think yours and Martin’s (Samuel) articles were completely out of order. That is my opinion.
Ashton: And I’m entitled to mine.
Villas-Boas: Of course, but I’m entitled to mine.
Ashton: But you are the one who has the problem with it, not me.
Villas-Boas: Ok but I’m making it public.
Ashton: Surely you don’t think there is a personal agenda?
Villas-Boas: I don’t think that, when I say there are articles that attack my integrity and human values. I think I don’t need to explain myself on that. Each one of us draws their own conclusions, that’s mine, obviously Neil and Martin have theirs and I respect their opinions as well but this is my opinion of what they write… even mixing the words that I said in the press conference after Man City.
Ashton: Sorry, can you explain?
Villas-Boas: I never told that the players should feel ashamed of themselves. We, that includes me.
Ashton: But if you say we should feel ashamed of ourselves, you are including your group of players?
Villas-Boas: Obviously.
Ashton: So…
Simon Felstein (Tottenham head of media): It’s not about dividing them, that’s the difference. It’s not a discussion for right now, not with the cameras on Neil. I think we can talk about this after.
Ashton: No, I am happy to talk about it now.
Villas-Boas: We is us. We are everybody at the club. Don’t you agree? Why do you think this is any intention to separate myself from it?
Felstein: Move on.
