Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas claims he retains the support of club owner Roman Abramovich after a third defeat in four EPL games leaves the Blue 12 points behind leader Manchester City.

Sunday's 2-1 loss to Liverpool, marked the first successive home league defeats since Abramovich bought the club in 2003. The team still appears riddled by defensive frailties and are now one of four clubs on 22 points, notes Dominic Fifield.

Chelsea's willingness to sack coaches was established with the dismissal of Luiz Felipe Scolari in February 2009 after seven months in the role. Villas-Boas has lost twice as many points (14) from his first 12 league games in charge as Scolari did in 2008-09. Asked if he was concerned about Abramovich's lack of patience, Villas-Boas replied: "It's not a question of the owner having patience. We have set out to build something new at this club, and the club is committed to taking on what we're building into the future.

"The owner didn't pay [$20 in compensation] to get me out of Porto only to pay me another fortune just to let me go again. Our commitment is towards the club and what we are doing in the future. We have enough talent to compete in all competitions, and that's the perspective we take at the moment."