The Blues boss saw his side crash to another last-gasp defeat that left them in real danger of failing to qualify for the Champions League knockout phase. Winger Florent Malouda claimed after the game Villas-Boas was not to blame for the Blues' worst start to a campaign since Roman Abramovich bought the club, but the new manager insisted it was his responsibility to arrest their slide. Failure to do so quickly will test billionaire owner Abramovich's patience to breaking point, with Chelsea having always finished in the Premier League top four and reached the last 16 of the Champions League during the Russian's tenure. Almost anything that can go wrong is going wrong for the Blues at present, with thes Group E defeat to the Bundeslga side the latest calamity. Chelsea were heading for victory until the 73rd minute but conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose 2-1 at the BayArena. That followed another late defeat to Liverpool, their third loss in four Premier League games. Villas-Boas acknowledged confidence was low, adding: "But that's when they expect the manager to inspire them. "That's my job. That's my task, to inspire these people and motivate these people to change our faith. "The responsibility is mine and it's my task now to inspire and motivate them to take them to a win against Wolves and certainly after to a win against Liverpool in the Carling Cup. "We have two games at home. We need to get the focus, concentration right, I have to inspire my players and motivate them, and we need our fans behind us in these critical moments." Tonight's result saw Chelsea drop to second in Group E and with Valencia completely overhauling their superior goal difference by beating Genk 7-0, it means Villas-Boas' side must either beat the Spaniards or keep a clean sheet against them at Stamford Bridge in two weeks' time to guarantee going through. "We will need Stamford Bridge completely behind us to get the intensity right and the emotions right for the game," Villas-Boas said. "It's in our hands to qualify. It's a game at Stamford Bridge and we expect to do our job. That's our responsibility and we don't want to let the fans down." You would not bank on Chelsea on current form, with their defence letting them down yet again tonight. Villas-Boas insisted they had defended well but for two corner kicks, one which saw Michael Ballack hit the bar and the other which led to the winner. "We left our back exposed," he said. "So we need to focus and concentrate on these issues. "We're all committed to this squad and to these players and we believe a lot in their talent and they believe in us, and we need to find a way out. "When they go into a series of defeats like we going through now, we get into the details a lot, to try to get them right and we just have to continue to work and believe that the win is close." Leverkusen's comeback began minutes after the much-maligned David Luiz was withdrawn for Alex, with the home side soon responding by throwing on Eren Derdiyok, who scored moments later. Villas-Boas said: "David was feeling very, very dizzy at half-time and sick. "He decided to continue, to make the effort for the team, but could no longer continue." The Chelsea boss branded the result "unfair", adding: "Not good football played by any of the teams, which in the end is a pity. "But that's not what matters today. What matters is that Leverkusen takes three important points to change the nature of the group." Leverkusen will expect to win at Genk to top the group, meaning even if Chelsea qualify, they are almost certain to face one of Europe's giants. "The most important thing for us at the moment is to qualify and eventually see what happens," Villas-Boas said. Leverkusen boss Robin Dutt insisted his side deserved tonight's win and was understandably pleased to have secured their place in the knockout stages. "We had so many chances," he said. "The lads absolutely deserved to win this game given the passion they showed, and deserved to get through into the last 16. "This felt more like a final for us. "You take a bit of risk with your substitutions, and we did that. It worked out. "We were only lucky in terms of the late goal. This team has shown how well it can do."
