Villas-Boas backs under-fire Mourinho

Andre Villas-Boas has described Jose Mourinho as a "pioneer" and a "winner" and backed him to come through his current problems at Chelsea.

Mourinho's side are 15th in the Premier League having lost six of their opening 11 games, while the Portuguese's regular run-ins with authority mean he will not be at the Britannia Stadium for the clash with Stoke at the weekend as he serves a one-game stadium ban handed out following his red card at West Ham on October 24.

Villas-Boas knows all about dealing with the pressure at Stamford Bridge having been sacked by Chelsea in March 2012 after less than nine months in the job, but he is backing his countryman to get the club back on the track.

Speaking ahead of Zenit's Champions League game at Lyon on Wednesday, he said: "It's very tough for me to speak about this kind of situation. I've been there before myself. It's a difficult position, when you start to get defeats in a row.

"In order to be able to get through it, you need to get some amazing results. That's the way to get rid of that kind of crisis.

"In my opinion, Jose has the qualities to be able to get through it. He has a lot of experience. He's the reference point in terms of head coaches in Portugal.

"He's the pioneer that led the way for Portuguese head coaches. We speak about someone who has never known something like this before. He's a winner when it comes to football. I think he will get through it."