Villas-Boas wants Chelsea to be the ‘Untouchables’

Chelsea begin their preparations this week for the start of the new Premier League season with a tour of the Far East, and coach Andre Villas-Boas has already thrown down the gauntlet to his squad.

The 33-year-old, who replaced Carlo Ancelotti in the Stamford Bridge hot seat in June, told reporters in Malaysia that the Champions League is his ultimate goal. "In the next years, for sure, the trophy will arrive in this club," said Villas-Boas. "Chelsea have been in a couple of semi-finals and also one final in recent times. I don't see why we can't go on to win it."

That was a question that proved impossible to answer for all Villas-Boas's predecessors, including his mentor Jose Mourinho, who led the Blues to two Premier League titles but never managed Europe's premier competition.

Nor did Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink or Ancelotti, and Villas-Boas acknowledged that should he fail to succeed he will almost certainly follow them out of the door. "I have to keep the standards high," he said. "Any person who sits on the manager's job at Chelsea is expected to win. I cannot run away from that."

Chelsea will spend a fortnight in the Far East, kicking off with a match on Thursday against a Malaysian XI before flying to Bangkok for a game against a Thailand All Stars team and then facing Hong Kong First Division League champions Kitchee.

And while the thought of the Chelsea squad let loose in Bangkok is enough to make the eyes water, Villas-Boas has challenged his players to fulfil their potential after a season of under-achievement.

He said he wants Chelsea to become the 'Untouchables' of European football. "As long as people are able to perform in training and to the expectations of the fans, and to a level of performance that is high and enables them to be in the starting 11 continuously, I don't see why it shouldn't happen."

Chelsea open their 2011/12 domestic campaign on August 14 away to Stoke and Villas-Boas has promised a fresh approach. "We are trying to build on a new way of playing and getting together ideas," he said. "There is plenty of talent in this squad. I want to believe the players can still find new things in them to exploit. It's always them that offer to me rather than myself offering to them."

According to Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, the new coach – who is only eight months older than him – is proving to be a hard taskmaster.

"The fact that Andre is young is irrelevant," said Lampard. "There is a nice freshness, a new style and new training methods compared to last year... on the training ground it has been a bit different to what we are used to. It has always been fast and intense and there has not been one session where people can relax or be sloppy."

One thing that hasn't changed from previous seasons, however, is Ashley Cole's ability to make the papers for reasons other than football.

The England left-back was at the centre of a fresh sex scandal at the weekend after a Virgin Atlantic air stewardess told the Sunday Mirror she'd slept with Cole while he was publicly wooing his former wife Cheryl Cole last month. According to Monday's Daily Mail, the story was the final straw for the petite pop princess who told Cole: "I'm done - delete my number."

With the likes of Cole in the Chelsea squad, it's unlikely Villas-Boas will ever get his team to be 'untouchable' off the field.     ·