Amid what he calls over-the-top criticism, Villas-Boas' side triumphs

LONDON - Andre Villas-Boas slammed the snipers who have criticized his Chelsea reign after the Blues swept into the Champions League last 16 with a 3-0 victory over Valencia.

Villas-Boas would have become the first Chelsea manager to see his side knocked out in the group stages of Europe's elite club competition if Valencia had won or secured a score-draw at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

That might have put Villas-Boas' future in severe doubt, but his players got him out of trouble as two goals from Didier Drogba and a Ramires strike - combined with Bayer Leverkusen's draw at Genk - allowed Chelsea to finish top of Group E.

After several weeks under the spotlight as Chelsea spluttered in the Premier League and Europe, Villas-Boas has clearly been harboring a few grudges and he took the opportunity to hit back at his critics in an tetchy post-match press conference.

"The players deserve respect they don't get. We have been continually chased by everybody and maybe today we gave everybody a slap in the face," Villas-Boas said.

"It (the criticism) has been over the top. At the moment Manchester City is the only team in the country. The approach in the media is if Manchester City qualify from their group then great, and if not that's ok. We don't get that approach (from the media).

"Some of the criticism is out of this world. There was an ex-Manchester United defender who said he could not play for this Chelsea team. It is unbelievable to me. It is a continuous persecution of Chelsea.

"It is unfortunate for you guys (in the media) because you will have to report on a brilliant win for Chelsea."

One of the main criticisms of Villas-Boas has come from suggestions he has lost the respect of his players with an aloof attitude and some puzzling tactics and substitutions.

If the players do remain to be convinced by their young Portuguese coach, there was no sign of the dissent as Drogba tormented a fragile Valencia defense, while Chelsea's tireless work-rate ran the Spaniards into the ground.

"Finishing top is fantastic, it is against all odds. Nobody would have put a bet on us finishing top," Villas-Boas said.

"It is a win of human values, team spirit, solidarity, strength of character and ability to take criticism."

Villas-Boas did concede he decided to change Chelsea's game plan to allow the defense to sit deeper after watching his relatively slow back-four exposed by pace several times recently.

"We kept our defenders a bit lower down the pitch with not a lot of space between the lines and it worked quite well," Villas-Boas said.

"It is not the best win in terms of what we are trying to achieve with our style, but it is the best win in terms of team-spirit. Full credit to the players.

"There are human values you cannot put away and they showed themselves. It is a different strategy but the same philosophy."

While Chelsea's defenders enjoyed a rare 90 minutes when little went wrong, it was Cote d'Ivoire forward Drogba who led the charge into the knockout stages.

He opened the scoring in the third minute with a fine left-footed finish and, after Ramires punished a mistake by Victor Ruiz to add the second, it was Drogba who sealed the win with a clinical strike in the 77th minute.

Drogba's form could mean a prolonged spell on the sidelines for Fernando Torres.

Agence France-Presse