Villas-Boas is refusing to panic about the threat of a second successive mid-season slump for the Blues after watching his defence ripped apart by the Gunners. Chelsea conceded five goals at home for the first time in 22 years to complete their and captain John Terry's nightmare week. Their troubles began during last Sunday's 1-0 loss at QPR, with Saturday's Stamford Bridge thriller seeing them suffer back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time since they lost three out of four at a similar stage last season. That kick-started their worst run in the league for almost 15 years, something from which they ultimately never recovered as they finished the campaign empty-handed. Avoiding a repeat could prove even more difficult this season as, unlike last term when Chelsea looked like running away with the title, they have always been playing catch-up under Villas-Boas thanks to the near-perfect form of Manchester City. But the man who was headhunted by Roman Abramovich following the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti had no fears about his side going into meltdown this time round. "Last year, we were exactly in the opposite situation," Villas-Boas said. "I think, to be fair, it was not on this date that things changed - it was late November. "But the nature of the Premier League is exactly this, games that are so open like this between top teams and a Premier League that can dramatically change. "Last year was the case on the wrong side for us and we have to continue to believe that this year, it will be on the good side for us." For that to happen in the Premier League, Chelsea will need City to drop far more than the two points Roberto Mancini's men have failed to pick up this season. They also must sort out a defence that has not kept a clean sheet in the league since the opening weekend of the season - their worst run for 10 years - and conceded eight goals in their meetings with Manchester United and Arsenal. Villas-Boas was recruited partly to make Chelsea more flamboyant but they simply cannot go on losing eight-goal thrillers. That will not involve Villas-Boas abandoning his attacking approach, however. "The philosophy is a personal value and it's a club value and you should never sell it cheaply," he said. "It's something that makes us all proud and we will stick to this philosophy throughout this league. "We just have to correct things to try to get our philosophy through." Seeing Chelsea shut up shop would certainly be bad news for the neutrals, who have been treated to a feast of attacking football at the top end of the Premier League this season. Citing City's 6-1 thrashing of Manchester United last weekend, Villas-Boas said: "There is a 3-1 result at Old Trafford with 83 minutes on the clock and the game finishes 6-1, when the (home) team believes that with the emotions of the stands that they can get something out of that game. "it happened the same (for us). We fought hard to get the 3-3, the emotions were behind us, it could be our best emotional moment to try to get the 4-3, and it happened the other way around. "So we were punished in that sense." Villas-Boas, who insisted the inquiry into allegations captain Terry racially abused QPR defender Anton Ferdinand last weekend - something Terry categorically denies - had no effect on his side's defending, added: "Before this game, we were among the three best defences in the Premier League, so I would argue with anybody that our defensive organisation was a problem before this game. "We committed mistakes and we will try to evolve and maybe we can improve for the game against Blackburn."
