Andre Villas-Boas has been named Manager of the Month for December after Tottenham’s impressive rise to third in the table.
After picking up wins against Fulham, Swansea, Aston Villa and Sunderland last month and being desperately unlucky to lose out to Everton, Villa-Boas deservedly merits the award.
AVB said: “It’s been an excellent December for us and we’ve managed to put ourselves in the kind of position that we want to be.
“We sit third in the league, but it is where we finish at the end of the season that matters.”
Having being a victim of circumstance last season at Chelsea, the former Porto coach is beginning to find his feet in the Premier League. Many will argue that he wasn’t given enough time at Chelsea, however following Di Matteo’s Champions League Triumph; it’s hard to argue against the decision as it stands now.
Villas-Boas’ has endured a bit of an inconsistent season with Spurs so far but their form in December has shown promise that they have found a winning formula and are ready to challenge for a Champions League spot. The form of both Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon has been key to Spurs’ recent surge up the league table and keeping them fit will be a major factor in whether the North London club can achieve a top four finish again this season.
It will be interesting to see whether Tottenham can finish the season above Chelsea. Although AVB won’t admit it, I’m sure it would make this season even more special to get one over the club that sacked him after being in charge for just nine months.
Villas-Boas and Tottenham will be hope to continue where they left off in December, having already won both games they have played in the new year. Their next challenge comes in the shape of bottom of the league side, Queens Park Rangers and Spurs’ former boss, Harry Redknapp. Will Harry’s side be able to halt his former club’s fine run of form?
Andrew Floyd