Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was disappointed with the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas at Chelsea. Villas-Boas was shown the door at Stamford Bridge following another poor result, this time a 1-0 defeat West Bromwich Albion.

Ferguson told Sky Sports: "The news is not surprising to me really.

"There was all the build-up in the media and obviously the results haven't been kind to him. But it is disappointing because he is a young manager.

"When you are young you need time and obviously in this industry you don't get a lot of time unfortunately, so it is sad in a way.

"I hope he does well because he has got the potential. His work at Porto can't be ignored and I hope he comes back into the game soon."