Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas insists he's not trying to squeeze out Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Villas-Boas, speaking after Chelsea were delayed for four hours on the runway at Gatwick before changing planes, was reluctant to accept that he is freshening up the squad by bringing in less established players than Lampard and Drogba.

"We made the changes on the things we needed to do to reinforce the squad," he said. "Raul Meireles had a fantastic year at Liverpool [last season]. We analysed [the] squad and did what we did because it was good. We went for a mixture, not just younger players, [Juan] Mata was the best player in Valencia with [a] proven record. I wanted to add competence to the squad. It's about competence and we have that at all levels in the squad."