Tottenham Hotspur FC
Confrontation with Neil Ashton
Question from another journalist: Your point is that you're under pressure so why is the United manager not under pressure?

André Villas-Boas (AVB): Well I think...I don't want to undermine other managers. You can easily compare situations. We have sat above Man City before and above Man United before and we haven’t seen any kind of these personal attacks to somebody, and they are in this room, so I think that is unfair. It's something that obviously comes with the 6-0 thrashing but more important is the team and the response and I think the players did that in great, great fashion

Neil Ashton: What was personal about it, Andre?

AVB: You can easily understand. I don't need to explain. I think you have always chased people, you attack people. You don't attack them by the front, you attack them sitting when you write. You attack integrity, you attack competence, you attack the integrity of the person, their human values and you don't even know that person. We never got a chance to sit down and speak about it

Ashton: I’m happy to speak about it

AVB: Only when I give you that chance, when I know you and you know me are you able to reach conclusions like the one you did. I think yours and Martin's (Samuel) articles were completely out of order. That is my opinion

Ashton: And I’m entitled to mine

AVB: Of course, but I’m entitled to mine

Ashton: But you are the one who has the problem with it, not me

AVB: Okay, but I’m making it public

Ashton: Surely you don’t think there is a personal agenda?

AVB: I don’t think that, when I say there are articles that attack my integrity and human values. I think I don’t need to explain myself on that. Each one of us draws their own conclusions, that’s mine, obviously Neil and Martin have theirs and I respect their opinions as well but this is my opinion of what they write...even mixing the words that I said in the press conference after Man City

Ashton: Sorry, can you explain?
AVB: I never told that the players should feel ashamed of themselves. We, that includes me

Ashton: But if you say we should feel ashamed of ourselves, you are including your group of players?

AVB: Obviously

Ashton: So...

Simon Felstein (Tottenham's Head of Media): It’s not about dividing them, that’s the difference. It’s not a discussion for right now, not with the cameras on Neil. I think we can talk about this after

Ashton: No, I am happy to talk about it now

AVB: We is us. We are everybody at the club. Don’t you agree? Why do you think this is any intention to separate myself from it?

Felstein: Move on

Question from another journalist: Paulinho, Dembele and Sandro, moved the ball quicker, is this the missing link?