Villas-Boas permitted to clear out Chelsea's 'old-guard'

London, Feb 18(ANI): Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is planning to clear out senior players from the squad after getting permission from club owner Roman Abramovich.

According to a source, if Villas-Boas manages to survive this year, then he will replace seniors like Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda with a new and young team.

Abramovich is understood to be livid at Chelsea's poor run of results and has demanded a quick turnaround, starting with Saturday's fifth-round FA Cup game at home to Birmingham City and, more importantly, Tuesday's Champions League tie away to Napoli.

The Russian billionaire communicated his annoyance in a further round of discussions with his advisers on Thursday, The Telegraph reports.

Abramovich is reportedly unhappy with the work of the coach and the players, but hasn't singled out Villas-Boas for the current mess at the club.

"He's not happy with any coach who has lost games. But he is not happy with the players either. Some players are supporting him [Villas-Boas] but the old boys are on their way out," the source said.

Villas-Boas has already started the process of changing the squad with the recruitment of the likes of Juan Mata and Oriol Romeu.

His task will be made easier because several older players are coming to the end of their contracts (ANI)