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Andre Villas-Boas: 'Mind games have no effect on title race'

Villas-Boas: 'Mind games have no effect on title race'
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Andre Villas-Boas dismisses the notion of mind games with Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of their weekend clash.

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas has dismissed the significance of mind games ahead of the club's clash with Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

The Manchester United manager has become known as a mind-game expert in his time at Old Trafford, following feuds with rival managers Kevin Keegan, Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez.

However, the former Porto boss is adamant that what is most important is a team's belief in their manager.

"Regarding the mind games, I really don't know how to position myself," he said. "I will wait and see if I need to respond or not, but it's the players who are most important.

"You can react in different ways, and tell players different things. The most important thing is for the players to have belief in the manager. If they don't, they might think the manager is subjective to pressure.

"Last year, at Porto, I had my disagreements with the Benfica boss, which was normal when they were threatening for the title. But it had no effect on the title race."

The Blues are two points beneath the defending champions, but can leapfrog United with a win at Old Trafford this weekend.

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1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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